THC II: Where Our Demons Hide
by DarkraixCresselia
Summary: "Created on the Day of Love, from the Keeper of All Hallow's Eve, by the King of Fear, born on the first day of the eleventh month. And on the annual day of his birth, he will raise the spirits of the past, so that they may be reunited with their love ones once again." This was the prophecy told by the Man in the Moon himself. But what does it mean? Title from Imagine Dragons song.
1. Prologue

**A/N Almost a year ago, my first _Rise of the Guardians_ fanfic, The Halloween Cat, was my most popular story, being the first to hit over 100 reviews. It was a huge honor :) I already had a few ideas for a sequel before it was even finished, but it took a while to bring them all together; plus, I like to leave a time gap between a story and its sequel. Even if this isn't as popular as the first (sequels usually have a hard time measuring up to the first movie/story) I hope it's enjoyable.**

**As always, I own only my two RotG OCs, Haley O' Eve and Mabella Amour. The rest, being the characters and mentioned plot of the movie, are owned by Dreamworks and William Joyce.**

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**Prologue**

The moon. The natural satellite of Earth, seemingly watching over said planet. Although modern man has accomplished flying to the moon time and time again, and even made eternal footprints in the dust, they could never truly understand the full power and magic of the moon. The full power and magic was more than bringing natural light during the night, or helping make tidal waves. The moon was the home to the man in the moon: Manfred Inn Moon.

Many different people have their own versions of the man in the moon, whether it's the craters forming a face, or even just that, a face on the moon. Some cultures depict him as a literal man living on or in the moon. But, just like the Guardians who guard the children of Earth, the man in the moon isn't quite what one expects.

Manfred sits in his stone throne in the deepest crater on the moon. He is a tall, thin man dressed in long, light-blue and light-gray robes that flowed down to the ground. He has pale skin, a long, white beard and hair, and pale, blue eyes. His robes have twinkling stars on them, and his eyes look blank and blind. Despite not physically seeing like a normal human, he is able to see all over the world, watching over the children and Guardians, with the help of the stars in the sky.

Manfred is rumored to be omniscient. This was only half-true, as he was only able to tell the future based on decisions made by the creatures of Earth. And he was given prophecies, by a higher being, to make decisions relating to the Guardians.

One of the most important prophecies Manfred ever received was about Pitch Black, the spirit of fear and nightmares, attempting to cloud the world in fear and darkness during the Dark Ages. To balance out the fear, Manfred created the Guardians to watch over the children of the earth, and spread and guard wonder, hope, memories, and dreams. They were able to tame fear and keep Pitch in check.

Another prophecy was when Pitch attempted to extinguish the children's belief in the Guardians, thus rendering them weak and powerless against him. In order to help the Guardians, Manfred was to create another Guardian. He found a young man who had a natural talent for making others laugh, and used fun to save his sister, sacrificing his life in the process. He changed this young man into the winter-themed trickster spirit known as Jack Frost, who was able to fulfill his destiny, help take down Pitch again, and become part of the Guardians as the Guardian of Fun.

But every now and then, there was a prophecy that took Manfred a while to decipher. One was a prophecy about Pitch Black himself, and a spirit that hadn't been created yet; one called The Keeper of All Hallow's Eve. When the holiday was created, Manfred create a spirit to guard the holiday. He found a stray black cat living in 16th century Spain, who had a kind heart, who wouldn't hurt a soul, save for in self defense, and was generous enough to let other cats, including kittens who weren't her kin, eat her food, even when very hungry herself. Despite being killed by heartless children, Manfred saw no hatred for them in her heart, and decided she would be the spirit of All Hallow's Eve.

So, he revived and changed the cat into a humanoid cat spirit, and named her Haley O' Eve, declaring her to be the Spirit of All Hallow's Eve. When she asked him to elaborate, he said nothing.

Though thought to be cruel by only telling a new spirit their new name and title, Manfred knew it was better that they found out their destiny for themselves. It shaped them better, and enabled them to make their journey of realizing who they were more wholesome.

Manfred watched as Haley O' Eve governed All Hallow's Eve, which turned into Halloween, met and befriended the Guardians, fought alongside Pitch Black against the Rogue Nightmares, and even tame and befriend the spirit of fear. Pitch had finally understood the full purpose of the Guardians, and because of that, and to make sure fear and nightmares were kept in check properly, Manfred made Pitch the Guardian of Fear.

However, Haley's destiny had only been halfway-fulfilled, though she and the others didn't know it.

With a soft sigh and smile, Manfred knew it was finally time to make the over five century-old prophecy known to the Guardians. He waved his wrinkled hands, forming a bright orb of light and electricity. He cupped the orb in one hand, and brought it close to his face. He whispered the prophecy, "Created on the Day of Love, from the Keeper of All Hallow's Eve, by the King of Fear, born on the first day of the eleventh month. And on the annual day of his birth, he will raise the spirits of the past, so that they may be reunited with their love ones once again."

The orb's light brightened, and the electricity buzzed louder. Finally, Manfred blew the orb away, like a child blowing dandelion seeds from the weed. The orb sailed towards Earth, leaving a long, white tail behind that slowly faded away starting at the tip.

Manfred sat back in his throne, still smiling. Though the prophecy won't arrive immediately, he knew it would reach the Guardians just in time that it would help make sense of past events.

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**A/N I wrote this a couple months ago, but didn't really want to post it right away because A) I like to try and proofread my chapters (even then, I tend to get messups ^^;) B) I wanted to write and post my RotG oneshot, _Ma Bella Amour_ because I wanted that OC to be in this too, and so I had to introduce her, and C) I had other stuff I was writing (mainly _Toxic Wings_, my currently most popular fanfic in terms of reviews) But I think I've procrastinated this long enough, so here it is :)**

**In the few RotG fanfics I read, I haven't seen anyone portray the Man in the Moon as anything other than an unseen deity. I've seen how he was portrayed in the books, but since Dreamworks made the Guardians different from their book and real-life counterparts (in my opinion, they made them more epic) I decided to do just so, kinda like how I did with Mabella Amour, who's essentially Cupid. I kinda imagine Manny, or Manfred Inn Moon (uncreative name is uncreative :3) to be a wise old man, something similar in appearance to Dumbledore or Disney's Merlin. If I could choose a voice actor for Manny, I'd probably choose Tim Curry.**

**I know the prophecy doesn't rhyme, but just like writing fight scenes, rhyming isn't one of my strongest suits. Plus, I don't think every prophecy needs to rhyme, they just need to be mysterious, and need to foretell something to come, whether it's big or small. It took a while to complete this prophecy; I can't remember exactly how it started, but it wasn't quite like this. I thought it'd be neat to make the prophecy kind of like a comet or meteorite.**

**Writing might be slow on this since I'm still writing _Toxic Wings_, and it'll be hard getting back into the groove of writing for this franchise, since I've been writing about A Bug's Life for the past months. But I'll try my best to write as much of this story as I can :)**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N As always, I own only my two RotG OCs, Haley O' Eve and Mabella Amour. The rest, being the characters and mentioned plot of the movie, are owned by Dreamworks and William Joyce.**

**Mocarela: Thanks :D**

**Thanks :) Like I said, I noticed no one described the Man in the Moon in past fanfics, so I decided to give my own interpretation of him. I thought it was a pretty good one myself.**

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**Chapter 1**

The_ mighty huntress stalks her prey, seemingly swimming through the tall grass. Her light-green eyes are locked on the prize, her sharp ears are set forward, and the tip of her long tail twitches ever so slightly. Her pink tongue darts out to lick her lips in anticipation. Every now and then, she pauses in her hunt, but she never keeps her eyes away from her prey for long._

_Finally, she is within jumping distance. Her eyes dilate, and she smiles a crack, revealing sharp teeth. Her backside wiggles in preparation, and she further flattens herself to the ground, if that were possible. She freezes when her prey sits up and glances around, tall ears rotating slightly, as if hearing the huntress behind him. Her light-green eyes lock on as he settles back into the grass._

_Finally, she leaps through the air, paws stretched forward to grab the unsuspecting animal…_

Haley fell past Bunnymund, who crouched down with a smirk. She fell to the ground with a yelp, and somersaulted a few times before stopping in a large clump of grass. She sat up and blew a few blades of grass out of her face, scowling as she heard the Pooka laugh behind her. "Ha-ha-ha, so funny," She said sarcastically in her slight Spanish accent. "I almost got you!"

"Yeah, but you're gettin' better," Bunnymund shrugged, scratching behind his ear with one large hind foot. "You've gotten outta the habit of yellin' as you leap."

"_Sí_, I suppose." Haley nodded. "It was a good idea of Jack's to go to Africa to practice."

Bunnymund paused scratching, his grass-green eyes wide. "Wait. It was the show pony's idea?"

"_Sí_, why?"

"I thought it was _your_ idea!"

"Nope." She shook her head. Her ears perked up as she saw something behind the gray-blue Pooka. "Uh, Bunny?"

"Yes?"

"You may want to watch out behind you."

Looking over his shoulder, Bunnymund saw two lion cubs running towards him, intent on playing rough with the oversized rabbit. With a surprised cry, he leapt away, only making the cubs run after him happily. "Haley! Help me!"

"No, you look like you have everything under control." She shook her head, smiling. "I knew you were good with human children, but not baby animals." She cocked her head as she felt something sniffing her back. Looking over her shoulder, she saw a full-grown male lion sniffing at her. She stood on her hind legs and backed away, surprising the large feline. "_Triste_ [Sorry], your highness," She bowed her head, grabbing her black, purple, and orange witch hat from the ground. "But I'm afraid I am already taken." She turned and walked towards Bunnymund, who was sitting in a tree away from the lion cubs. "Bunny, if you're done babysitting lion cubs, I think it's time to _ir a casa_ [to go home]."

"You were the one who left me to the buggers!" He answered, jumping down as the cubs finally ran back to the male lion, who was presumably their father.

"They're babies, they won't hurt you." Haley chuckled. "Besides, I thought you were afraid of _perros_ [dogs]."

"I'm not afraid of them," Bunnymund countered. "I just don't like 'em. An' those babies won't stay babies for long. Oh, an' before I forget, are you still comin' to Mabella's Valentine's Day party?"

"As far as I know, _sí_." The Halloween spirit nodded. "And Pitch will too."

Bunnymund grimaced slightly at the mention of the still-new Guardian of Fear, but said nothing about him. "We'll all meet at yer house, an' I'll take you guys to her place." He tapped the ground twice with his foot, and jumped down the tunnel before it closed.

Haley looked around the area, watching as the lion cubs' mother appeared through the tall grass. The cubs, which had been playing with their father's mane and tail, ran up to their mother and rubbed against her legs and pawed at her whiskers. She nudged affectionately with her head, then settled down to groom them.

Haley smiled softly, feeling slightly jealous. For as long as she could remember, she sometimes envisioned what it would be like if she had kits of her own. When she was a regular cat back in the 16th century, she hardly thought about it. But some time after she became Haley O' Eve, the humanoid-cat Spirit of Halloween, especially after meeting the Burgess Group, she wondered about what her own children, or child, would look and be like.

She stood up, took a candy corn out of her hip bag, and threw it on the ground at her feet. The piece of candy exploded in puffs of white, yellow, and orange sweet-smelling smoke. When it cleared away, Haley was gone.

Haley reappeared in more candy corn-colored, sweet-smelling smoke at her "haunted house" in Spain. She trotted around to the backyard, looked over her pumpkin patch, stepped down hidden stairs to an underground library, and rearranged a few books. A door clicked and opened, revealing a large, bright room with tables of rats and bats, wearing purple and orange vests respectively, making hundreds of candy. They squeaked and chirped as Haley walked in.

She said hello back, and got to work overseeing some workers, taste-testing some mixtures and candies, telling them if an ingredient needed to be added, or that a candy batch was perfect. Then, she left the room, locked it again, and walked back outside to her Haunted Tree, a tall, gray leaf-less, scary-looking tree, her favorite place to nap. Only this time, she wouldn't' be napping.

She jumped down a large hole at the base of the tree, half-running and half-sliding down a long, rocky tunnel into a dark, shadowy, underground cave. It was the lair of the Boogeyman, the Nightmare King, and the Guardian of Fear: Pitch Black.

Just as she entered the actual layer, she tripped over her own paws and came tumbling head-over-heels down the tunnel into the cave, rolling and landing on her back. Blinking the stars away, she looked up to see, looking down at her, two of Pitch's minions/pets: Nightmares; black-sand horses with glowing yellow eyes, sharp teeth, and streamer-like appendages on their backs.

Between the Nightmares was Pitch Black himself. He had a thin face, gray skin that looked as though it was made of sand, slicked-back black hair, and silver-golden eyes that looked like eclipses. He wore a long, black robe, with a deep V neck, that fell to the ground, and a large, flat, golden collar with a fancy red G on the front and back.

He smiled fondly down at Haley, hands behind his back. "Well, look who's dropped in: one Haley O' Eve."

Haley smiled and stood up, shaking herself off. Pitch looked her up and down. She had thick, short, black fur, small ears, almond-shaped light-green eyes, a long tail, and often grinned like a Cheshire cat. She wore a black witch hat with a purple patch and orange band, purple fingerless gloves with orange wrists, and a golden G on each glove, a brown hip bag that contained her weapons, and red wrappings on her ankles and lower legs.

"What brings you down here?" The nightmare spirit asked.

"Bunnymund and I returned from hunting training in Africa." She answered. "I checked on my rats and bats making Halloween candy, and decided to, as you put it, 'drop in.'"

"Ah, I see. How did that go?"

"Decently, I think. I at least stopped yelling as I pounced."

"That sounds like good progress."

"Bunnymund also told me he would take us and the rest of the Guardians to Mabella's house from mine for her Valentine's Day party tomorrow. I don't know when, so it may be _una buena idea_ [a good idea] to come in the morn—hey, what's wrong?"

Pitch was looking down and to the side with a melancholy expression. Haley's ears tipped sympathetically, stood in front of Pitch, and placed her paw on his cheek, moving his head so he faced her. "What's wrong, Pitch?"

"…I suppose I'm still having trouble being convinced that people want to be my friend." He sighed.

Haley knew what Pitch was talking about. Before she met the nightmare spirit, Jack Frost, a winter spirit and the Guardian of Fun, told her that Pitch approached him, asking him to join him to fight against the Guardians, and expressed sadness and desire to be accepted, saying he knew how it felt to be not believed in and to be alone. Even after meeting Haley, who promised she would be his first friend, becoming the Guardian of Fear, and earning the friendships of Jack, Sandy, the silent sandman and Guardian of Dreams, and North, Santa Claus and the Guardian of Wonder, Pitch still had trouble realizing he was getting friends, and more with Haley.

She smiled, stood on her tiptoes, and said, "It'll be okay. She wants to know you, to be your friend. This is good."

"I know. It's still hard to realize it."

"I know. But it will get easier. Trust me."

"…Well, you _were_ the first to become my friend, even after expressing hatred for me." He smiled, chuckling slightly. "And I'm grateful to you for becoming my first friend."

"It was the least I could do." She shrugged.

"You know, it's quite fitting that it's almost Valentine's Day." Pitch chuckled, kissing Haley's forehead. He cupped her round cheek and kissed her lips. She kissed him back, purring, and nuzzled under his chin.

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**A/N I had a hard time deciding where to start this story. Eventually, I decided it would be in the middle of my oneshot, _Ma Bella Amour_ (I'd highly recommend reading that to get familiar with Mabella ;)) So, date-wise, it's Feb 13th.**

**I decided to try a new method in translating Haley's Spanish. Instead of listing all that she said in the Author's Note, the translations will be in brackets next to the word/phrase. I think it looks a bit messy, but it'll probably be better than listing everything at the end. Let me know what you think of this new method (_sí_ won't be translated, because almost everyone knows it means "yes")**

**I really sympathized with Pitch in RotG. I really felt he wasn't lying when he was talking with Jack at Antarctica, and that he really did feel alone; not just in not being believed in by children, but in not having any friends or family.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N As always, I own only my two RotG OCs, Haley O' Eve and Mabella Amour. The rest, being the characters and mentioned plot of the movie, are owned by Dreamworks and William Joyce.**

**The Tell-Tale Man: Thanks :)**

**Mocarela: That scene kinda drew inspiration from Animal Planet/Nat Geo Wild documentaries about lions/tigers/other large cats hunting. I thought it'd be an interesting way to officially kick-start the story.**

**I decided I'm gonna go with that method. You're right in that it's much easier, and I'm not sure why I didn't start with it.**

**Thanks :)**

**darthcat: I have a very good feeling that he survived, since you can't kill fear (did Pitch say that? I can't remember) and as Haley stated in the previous story, fear is needed. But yeah, I felt sorry for him throughout the movie.**

**XD**

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**Chapter 2**

Early the next morning, Haley was still curled up, asleep in her queen bed. She rarely used the comforters unless it was cold. In warm, sunny weather, she got her warmth from the sunlight streaming in through the windows.

In her sleep, the four-foot-eleven cat rolled over and stretched her arms out, arching her back. She then relaxed with a content sigh.

Something dusty, that smelled like licorice, was sniffing at her face and nudging her cheek. Cracking an eye open, Haley saw the long face of Pitch's head Nightmare, Incubo, sniffing at her.

Haley jumped back with a frightened screech, landing on all fours. Her arms and legs were stretched apart, the fur on her back stood up, and her tail was big and fluffy. "Incubo, you scared me half to death!" She yelled. "_¿Qué quires?!_ [What do you want?!]" The Halloween spirit was cranky when she was woken up; especially if she was scared awake.

Incubo snorted at her and trotted out of the room. Rolling her eyes, Haley grabbed her witch hat and leg wrappings off of the dresser, put her hat on, held one leg wrapping in her teeth, and walked down to the living room. She sat on a light-brown armchair and wrapped her left foot and foreleg in the red wrapping. As she did the same on her right leg, Pitch stepped into the living room with a cup of steaming black coffee. "Good morning." He smirked playfully.

"You sent Incubo." She stated distastefully.

"Why would I send her here to awaken you?" He asked innocently, laying a hand on his chest dramatically.

"I didn't say she woke me up."

"I figured she did, since you have bed fur, and you aren't this usually cranky during the day."

"'Day?' _Es apenas la mañana!_ [It's barely morning!] I need my beauty sleep." Haley finished putting on her red leg wrappings. She stood up, walked by Pitch, and grabbed her fingerless gloves off of the back of the loveseat.

"I assure you that you don't need it, Gumdrop." Pitch smiled.

"Cute." Haley chuckled. She couldn't stay mad at him forever. Especially not when he called her by her favorite candy name.

"Would you like something to perk you up?"

"You know I don't like coffee." She curled her nose. She could barely stand the smell, let alone the taste. "Besides, I get my sugar from my candy."

"Speaking of which, I have something for you for Valentine's Day." From behind his back, Pitch presented a black and gray heart-shaped candy box.

Grinning widely, Haley took the box and opened it. It contained chocolates of different shapes and colors, and in the middle were her favorite candy: gumdrops. And it appeared that Pitch had specifically gathered black-colored, licorice-flavored gumdrops.

"Thank you! Thank you!" She said with glee, jumping on her toes a few times. She took a few gumdrops out to eat, and closed the box for later. She rubbed up against his shoulder, purring.

Pitch shook his head with a chuckle. When Haley received candy, she acted like it was Christmas Day. He followed her into the kitchen, where she set the candy box on the counter, and as she chewed the gummy candies, she fixed a cup of peppermint tea. "It's curious how you don't like coffee, but you enjoy tea." He remarked.

"You drink your own drinks, and I'll drink mine." She smirked, slapping his leg with her tail. "Besides, we both know you don't like _té_. [tea]"

"True." He nodded, downing the rest of his drink.

Later, after Haley finished her tea and brushed her fur and teeth, North, Jack, and Tooth came to the house. North was a tall, wide, jolly Russian-accented man, with tattoos reading "Naughty" and "Nice" on his right and left forearms respectively.

Jack was a pale-skinned teenager with white hair, a blue jacket, brown pants, and carried a staff with him. Tooth was a mix of a lady and a hummingbird, and would flit about, talking to her mini-fairies about the various teeth the children of the world lost, and would also check up on the other Guardians' teeth. She and Haley had a love-hate relationship because Tooth didn't like Haley "eating junk food all of the time," and the Halloween cat didn't like the fairy prying her mouth open out of the blue.

"Good morning, fellow Guardians!" North grinned, sniffing the air. "Do I smell mint and licorice?"

"I just finished _té de menta,_ [peppermint tea] and Pitch gave me a box of candy, which has licorice gumdrops." Haley answered. She grunted in surprise when Tooth grabbed her top jaw in one hand, and pried her lower jaw down.

"Haley, you know gumdrops are bad for your teeth!" Tooth protested, looking into her mouth. She let the cat go with a shrug. "At least you had the decency to brush your teeth."

Haley scowled at her, rubbing her jaw. "Ah, Pitch!" North exclaimed, slapping the Guardian of Fear on the shoulder, making him gasp in surprise and slight pain. "I never thought I would be saying this, but thank you for making children behave for Christmas!"

A few weeks before Christmas, Pitch had sent out several Nightmares to various "naughty children," telling them to be good, or they wouldn't get presents from Santa. Needless to say, it actually worked in getting a large number of children to behave.

"It was my pleasure, North." Pitch nodded, standing up straight and bending his shoulders back.

"Where's Sandy?" Haley asked.

"He'll be here soon." Jack answered. "He's getting a late start."

"He probably likes to sleep in early, like some other person I know." Pitch winked at Haley, who pretended not to notice.

About five minutes later, Sandy arrived. "Here's Sleepy." Jack smirked.

With a playful grin, Sandy wielded a sand-axe, making everyone laugh. "Before Bunny arrives, would any of you like to see my _¿nuevas armas?_ [new weapons]" Haley asked.

Everyone nodded. She led everyone outside, and told them to wait until she got her weapons. While they were gone, Jack asked Pitch, "So, you gave her a Valentine's Day gift, eh, lover-boy?" He grinned, elbowing him in the chest.

Pitch raised his eyebrow at the winter spirit. "…Please don't call me that." He deadpanned. "And why is it so amazing that I gave her candy?"

"Haven't we already established Pitch likes Haley?" Tooth asked. "Does anyone remember the New Year's party?"

A sand shape of a cat's face appeared over Sandy's head. It morphed into Pitch's profile, and finally formed a heart. "Sandy is right," North nodded. "Haley likes Pitch too. Why else would she defend him like mother hen?"

Jack and Tooth chuckled at that; even Pitch smiled humorously.

Haley returned holding several candy-themed weapons. "First of all, this," She held up what looked like a roll of red and black licorice. "I call them licorice webs. Would anyone like to volunteer?"

Pitch, North, Sandy, and Tooth took a big step/move backwards, leaving Jack standing. He looked back in confusion. "_Gracias_, [thank you] Jack." She smiled. She put the roll of licorice in a plastic toy blaster she also had, aimed it at the Guardian of Fun, and pulled the trigger. A large net of red and black licorice flew out and swallowed Jack, knocking him to the ground. "The licorice is very tough, making it nearly impossible to eat your way out." She said proudly, blowing across the mouth of the blaster.

"Can I get out, please?" Jack asked.

Tooth and Sandy pulled the net off of him. "I would prefer if I could simply throw it, and not need to rely on _la pistola de juguate_. [the toy blaster]" Haley continued. "I'm still trying to work out the bugs. Anyway, I also have something similar: cotton candy sticky traps." She showed a large cone, with a bit of pink cotton candy sticking out. Without any warning, she blew hard through the cone, making a large wad of the sticky candy fly at Jack, covering him in cotton candy, pinning him to the ground. "It is very sticky, making it hard to get out."

"Why am _I_ the weapon guinea pig?!" He protested, standing with some difficulty. He staggered to the hose on the side of the house, and began spraying himself off.

"This last one won't need any volunteers." Haley said, holding up two large lollipops connected by a three-foot string. The candies were each the size of a large goofball, and the sticks were each as large as a chopstick, and were as big around as the thicker end of a chopstick. "These are lollipop grappling hooks. Get the candy wet, or simply lick them, and they stick to nearly everything. I luckily made it so it won't stick to skin or hair." She licked both lollipops, and planted one on the side of the house. It stayed there like it was glued on. Gripping the stick, she pulled herself up and put the lollipop up higher. "And even though they're strong to pull up even North, they're easy to pull off." She was able to climb halfway up the side of the house.

"How're you gonna get down?" Jack asked, having washed off the cotton candy.

Instead of answering verbally, Haley pushed her hind feet against the side of the house. At the same time as she pulled both lollipops off, she back flipped off of the side of the house, and landed on her feet.

"Very nice," Pitch nodded. "Both the dismount and weapons."

"_Gracias_." She smiled.

A few hours later, well into the afternoon, everyone was on the front porch. North and Tooth were talking, Jack was making random snowflakes and letting them fall and melt, and sometimes caught them on his staff. Sandy was leaning against the house and dozing, and Pitch was sitting on the porch steps. Haley was lying on her back next to him, with her head on his lap, and was lightly dozing as well. Pitch was scratching behind her ears, and she was smiling and purring.

Finally, Bunnymund leapt out of a hole in the ground. Everyone immediately sat up, and Jack nudged Sandy away. "Everyone ready?" The Pooka asked.

Everyone nodded. "All right, hop on in." He tapped the ground with his foot, and jumped down in the hole. Everyone leapt in before it closed up. Haley ran along the ground, Tooth and Jack flew through the tunnel, Pitch melted into the shadows, and North and Sandy slid along the tunnels like they were going through a huge slide.

Everyone popped out into thick, white clouds. They cried out in surprise, and Haley leapt up and grabbed onto Pitch, wrapping her arms, legs, and tail around the upper half of his body. Bunnymund stood nearby calmly, chuckling. "You won't fall through. Trust me." He said.

Everyone relaxed, seeing that they really weren't falling through the clouds. Haley untangled herself from Pitch and stood on the ground, smiling bashfully.

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**A/N This chapter was originally longer, but I decided to cut it a bit.**

**I read that Pitch's head Nightmare was named Onyx, but I used that for Mandrake's grackle in my _Epic_ fanfic (I thought his grackle's name was Onyx; better than the "canon" Raven, I suppose) so I gave her (?) a different name. Incubo is Italian for "Nightmare"; I used an Italian translated name because I read that Pitch's lair is under Italy. And even though I didn't say it, the reason Incubo smells like licorice is because she likes it :3 I myself don't XP**

**On the other hand, I'm on the fence about coffee. I like the smell of it, and I like coffee-flavored jellybeans. But I have yet to try actual coffee. As for tea, I don't like its smell, and I don't like it, period. I had to drink some when I was sick, and it was nasty XP**

**I kinda came up with the idea that Pitch would give bad children nightmares, telling them to be good for Christmas. It's kinda cute, I think.**

**I made up Haley's weapons months ago; luckily, I wrote at least their names down so I wouldn't forget. I decided not to do the cliche and make licorice whips, but licorice webs. I may be using too much logic for at least the webs, but it kinda works so far.**

**You might recognize some writing from my oneshot, _Ma Bella Amour_. I tried to add as much writing as I could though. Like I said, most of everything about Mabella is in said oneshot, so I highly recommend reading that first; especially before the next chapter, which is when she's officially introduced.**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N As always, I own only my two RotG OCs, Haley O' Eve and Mabella Amour. The rest, being the characters and mentioned plot of the movie, are owned by Dreamworks and William Joyce.**

**Mocarala: Even though he's out of practice, he's quite a lover-boy, as Jack put it XD**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

A tall tower made of clouds stood nearby, looking like soft-serve ice cream without the cone. A tall, willowy, beautiful woman flew out on small gray wings. She had curly red hair that fell past her shoulders, purple eyes, fuchsia eye shadow, and red lips. She wore a short, pink, billowing top, a purple shirt, a short red skirt, and red stockings. Her gloves and knee-high boots were dark-green; she had thick gold bands on her upper arms and wrists, and a golden bow and arrows poking out behind her head and wings.

"Ah, _bonjour!_ You must be Bunnymund's friends." She greeted, standing in the clouds. "I am Mabella Amour, the Spirit of Love. The children call me Cupid. Come inside, we have much to talk about."

Inside, the walls and stairs leading to a second level were made of clouds. The furniture, however, looked like normal furniture. It seemed to be French-themed, and was rich and beautiful-looking. A wooden door with a heart and winged-fawn design was on a back wall—Mabella said it led to an arena with her winged fawns, and that the stairs led to the restroom, medical room, and her bedroom.

Bunnymund introduced everyone to Mabella, begrudgingly referring to Pitch as a Guardian. Haley confessed she didn't have a purpose, no was a Guardian, but said she didn't mind it.

"Bunnymund told me quite a bit about you." Mabella smiled. "He mentioned we both sometimes speak words in our native language, are spirits of holidays, and have _animaux_ [animals] as pets."

"Perhaps we could be _buenos amigos. _[good friends]"

Tooth suddenly hovered close to Mabella and pried her mouth open. "Oh, your teeth are so bright and beautiful!" She exclaimed. "I'm almost falling in love with them!"

"Tooth," Jack said.

"Right, I know," She flew back, letting Mabella's mouth go. "'Fingers out of mouth.' I just can't resist looking at healthy white teeth." She glanced critically at Haley, making the cat roll her eyes.

"I brush them," Haley said. "And candy isn't my sole food. I eat non-candy too."

Tooth and Haley soon got into a small argument, with North separating them, telling them they weren't to argue during a social event. "Tooth doesn't like that Haley enjoys candy." Pitch explained to the love spirit, hands clasped behind his back. "Haley doesn't seem to care. She has a big sweet tooth."

"I see." Mabella nodded. "Well, it's just as well I have cookies and other such sweet things. I'm an exceptional cook. Bunnymund helped me make this spread earlier." She gestured at a long table, with hors d'oeuvres, cheese soufflé, crepes, various cheeses, a large plate of candy and cookies, and some fine wine and plain juice. Haley was nearly drooling at the sight of the candy.

Everyone enjoyed trying the various foods and drinks, and getting to know Mabella Amour. She let some of her winged fawns come in to nibble on the cheeses. Tooth and Haley cooed over the "cute fawns" and gave them cheese, making them bleat happily. One reddish-orange and peach fawn, Ambre, was especially friendly towards Bunnymund.

Haley loved the candies Mabella made, and they exchanged recipes. "I may not use them for my Halloween candies," She said, sipping her wine. "But I may make some just to have candy _a la mano_. [on hand]"

"_Moi aussi_. [Me too]" Mabella agreed.

Haley stood up, a little shaky on her feet, and bumped into Pitch. "Oopsie, sorry, _amor_. [love]" She giggled, hiccupping once.

"I think you've had enough to drink." He remarked with a soft smile, taking her glass out of her paw. She didn't seem to notice. "Perhaps it would be wise to take you home."

"No, I like it here." She mewed, smiling.

"I'll take her home." Pitch said to the others, scooping Haley up into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed her head against his chest, purring like a kitten.

"Is she drunk?" Jack asked, cocking his head slightly.

"She's only had one glass," Mabella said. "She only has _les rires et le hoquet._ [the giggles and hiccups]_"_

At Jack's confused expression, Pitch translated, "'The giggles and hiccups.'" At that, he and Haley disappeared into the shadows of the early evening.

They reappeared in Haley's house in the living room. Pitch walked upstairs to put Haley to bed. She continued to rub against his chest, still purring loudly. "You've been quite affectionate lately." The nightmare spirit remarked. "Not that I'm complaining, but you've been more affectionate than usual."

"Is that bad?" She mewled.

"Like I said, I'm not complaining." Pitch kicked open the door to Haley's bedroom, and tossed her onto the bed.

"Oof! That wasn't nice." Haley scowled.

"At least the bed's nice and soft." Pitch countered.

Haley stood on all fours on the bed, pulled Pitch closer to her by his collar, and kissed him deeply. He grunted in surprise, but kissed her back as she stood to her hind feet and wrapped of her arms around his neck. He cupped her round cheek with one hand, and wrapped his other arm around her waist. She leaned back, making them both fall on the bed. Pitch leaned his head back and smirked, "You little minx."

"I don't hear you complaining." Haley chuckled, kissing him again.

* * *

Early the next morning, Haley was awoken by sunlight streaming in over her face. Instead of it being warm and inviting, it worsened the headache she had. She clenched her eyes tightly, moaning, and covered her face with her paws. "Turn off the lights." She mumbled, rolling over. She accidentally rolled off of the bed. "Ouch!" She screeched, clutching her head. It wasn't a bad one, but she never liked headaches.

She slowly sat up, clutching the bed comforters, and rubbed her head. "Ugh, what happened last night?" She chuckled lightly. "What a _pregunta cliché_ [cliché question] to ask." She walked on all fours out of her room and down the stairs. A glass of water, with half-melted ice cubes, was on the kitchen table. A folded note was beside the glass.

Haley sat in a chair, took a sip of the still-cold water, and read the note,

"**Haley,**

**I left at about six o'clock in the morning.  
I figured you'd have a headache, even though you only had one glass of wine, so I left you a glass of water.  
I'll come by at noon to check on you.**

**Love, Pitch Black"**

Haley smiled softly, taking another sip of her water. She sighed happily, feeling much better. After she finished her water, she went back to her room, closed the curtains, and went back to sleep.

* * *

Pitch rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing. What had happened the previous night was still playing in his mind. He didn't know how Haley would react, so he left as soon as he woke up, leaving her a glass of iced water for the headache he knew she would have.

He felt like a coward for leaving so early, but it was the only thing he could think of. He wondered if Haley would be upset, would understand, or not say anything about it. Maybe he was overreacting.

He sighed, shaking his head. He had also been wondering—not just that morning, but for the past two months—if he was really best for Haley. It was a ridiculous thought, but years of loneliness and solitude told him that no one would want to be around him, much less be his friend. And when Haley said she would be his friend, even after expressing hatred for him, it surprised him to the core. He still had a hard time believing it was true, and that it had gone beyond friendship.

He was scared. Yes, even he, the King of Nightmares, admitted that he was scared of such a trivial matter. He hadn't been in a romantic relationship since his late wife, and that had been hundreds upon hundreds of years ago, before Haley O' Eve was even born. Before he became Pitch Black. Now that he was the King of Nightmares, he knew no one would want to easily be his friend, much less lover, since his position and appearance made him appear antagonistic.

But Haley disagreed. She saw past his feared reputation, and saw the hidden goodness in him. And that was what scared him. Pitch had been feared and hated for so long that he hardly knew what love was as a whole.

Pitch sighed again, and glanced at a large hourglass. It was almost noon. Almost the time he said he would check on Haley in the note he had left her. Standing from the stone chair he was sitting in, he disappeared in the shadows of his lair, and reappeared in the upstairs hall of Haley's haunted house.

He cracked open the door to her bedroom, and found her curled up in her bed, fast asleep. The curtains were drawn, and her hat was on the dresser.

Smiling, Pitch knocked on the door jam with his first two knuckles. Haley's ear twitched before her head slowly lifted up. She uncurled herself and stretched her arms, yawning, and then stretched her hind legs and tail. She sat down on her haunches, licked her paw, and cleaned behind one ear. Her light-green eyes lazily opened. "_Tarde_. [Afternoon]" She nodded with a smile.

"Afternoon." Pitch nodded back. "Feeling better?"

"_Sí._ I had a small headache, but it's getting better." What happened last night ran through her mind, evident by her ears tilting embarrassingly, and her eyes darting to the side awkwardly.

Pitch rubbed the back of his neck. "Er, I think it would be best that last night be kept between us?"

"That would be best, _sí_." Haley nodded. After another few seconds of silence, she said, "So…Mabella's a nice girl."

"Oh, yes. Quite." Pitch nodded. "She and Bunnymund seem to be good friends."

"He knows her better than any of us."

"Right…well, I think I'll take my leave, and leave you to…fully recover."

Haley cocked her head slightly, and looked a bit hurt. But the latter thing faded away so fast, Pitch wondered if it was there to begin with. "A-all right. I guess I do still have a bit of _un dolor de cabeza_. [a headache] I-I'll see you later, then?"

Pitch nodded and faded away without another word.

Haley lay on her back with a sigh. She understood what had happened last night was awkward for both of them. But for some reason, Pitch's reluctance to stay longer hurt her. She was sure it was more than the awkward situation and her still-lingering headache. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

* * *

**A/N Like I said, the first part of the chapter's mostly copy-and-paste, but I couldn't really think of much to put in, though I might have altered the dialogue a bit, and added English translations for Spanish or French words.**

**Haley's not totally drunk, just a touch so she's giggling and hiccuping more than normal (I'm not an expert on the different levels of ****drunkenness, so don't quote me on it)**

**I'm not gonna go THAT far, since this is rated-T, but I think you can kinda figure what happened behind closed doors, so to speak ;) Plus, it's Valentine's Day, the Day of Love (remember the prophecy ;D)**

**This is gonna be a good plot point/substory kind of thing. I'm kinda/sorta/a bit combining movie!Pitch and book!Pitch into one. We all know about movie!Pitch. But according to Rise of the Guardians Wiki (I've never heard of the books before the movie came out, and people said it's based on books) Pitch was a good person, and had a family; his daughter went on to become Mother Nature. I had first heard about his daughter being Mother Nature in fanfics, and I thought that was an established headcanon, but had no idea that was actually book!canon. Either way, it's kinda cool.**

**So, I'm not delving too far into Pitch's past, just giving little tidbits here and there. But the whole purpose is to show how "awkward" and scared he is about having a romantic relationship with Haley. Plus, since no one's wanted to be his friend until recently, he thinks he's not good enough for Haley. You can kinda imagine what impact that will have on Haley when she finds out...**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N As always, I own only my two RotG OCs, Haley O' Eve and Mabella Amour. The rest, being the characters and mentioned plot of the movie, are owned by Dreamworks and William Joyce.**

**Mocarela: I never knew it either, but I think I found out about it on FanFiction. Plus, what's even more cool, the person who wrote the books also wrote the book that inspired Epic, which is another one of my favorite films. If you haven't read it, I wrote a fanfic for Epic; it's called _Amphibiques in Boggan's Armor_. It might be worth a read if you haven't already ;)**

**I figured he'd be acting like that. I was kinda worried he'd be a bit "too emo;" especially in this one. But it looks like it's not that bad yet XD**

**No, I was talking about finding out what he was thinking; basically, him thinking that she would eventually "decide" he wasn't worth being friends with. She wouldn't mind hearing he had a family, and would actually want to learn more; she'll be surprised to learn she's pregnant, which I think might be in the next chapter, if not the one after.**

**They just come to mind, I guess. I also put a lot of thought in them. They also take a long time to come up with; for example, this fanfic idea sparked as I was writing _The Halloween Cat_, which started June 23, 2013, and ended ****Aug 8, 2013**. So, it took over a year for me to start this fanfic.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

For the next few weeks, Pitch seemed to be avoiding Haley. He rarely visited her—though he didn't often in the first place—and when they did meet, said meetings would become more and more awkward as time went by. Haley became thoroughly convinced that it wasn't the awkward Valentine's Day night that was causing Pitch to change. It was something else.

So, finally, near the end of March, the Halloween cat had had enough. When she found Pitch, she immediately asked, "What's wrong?"

"What?" He cocked his head, feigning innocence. "What do you mean?"

"You know very well what I mean, _Negro_. [Black] You've been avoiding me for over a month, and I'm getting _enfermo y cansado de él_. [sick and tired of it] What is going on?"

Pitch sighed heavily. When Haley called him by his surname, and in Spanish to boot, she was getting upset. "I've just been thinking for the past three months that…well…you deserve better."

When he said "three months," Haley confirmed inwardly that it wasn't what had happened on Valentine's Day that was bugging him. But his "explanation" didn't help either. "What do you mean?" She raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"I mean what I said: you deserve better than me."

"I don't understa-"

"Open your eyes, Haley!" Pitch suddenly snapped, turning towards her with a scowl. "You could have anyone else as a friend, much less lover! Especially Bunnymund! He's had his eye on you ever since day one, I believe."

"But I only love him _como un hermano_. [as a brother]" Haley protested. _No, I will not cry. I won't cry. Damn, stupid emotions._

"…Perhaps you should broaden your love for him then." Pitch said. "I'm sorry, Haley, but I think…I think it would be best if we stay friends, or maybe just acquaintances."

"Is it about Valentine's Day?" She whispered. Despite her best efforts, tears were starting to sting in her eyes.

"No. Like I said, I've had these thoughts for three months. Essentially, ever since you said you would be my friend. I'm sorry…but I think this is for the best." Without another word, he melted into the shadows.

"Pitch! _Vuelve aquí, bastardo desagradecido!_ [Get back here, you ungrateful bastard!]" Haley yelled, hissing. Even though she was extremely angry, she was upset as well. Tears were running down her furry cheeks even as her puffed-up tail lashed behind her. She continued to yell Pitch's name and several Spanish curse words, even though the only voice answering were her own voice echoes. Finally, she screamed at the top of her lungs and ran away, on all fours, from the clearing in the Burgess Woods, sobbing all the while.

Jack had been lazily flying around the outskirts of Burgess, and heard the scream. He skidded in his invisible tracks and flew in the direction of the scream. He found Haley running on all fours away from the woods, sobbing. "Hey, Fuzzy!" He yelled, flying alongside her. "Where's the fire?"

"_¡Déjame en paz!_ [Leave me alone!]" She screeched, startling the winter spirit so he fell on the ground. He watched as she disappeared over a hill, still crying. Then, he saw white, yellow, and orange smoke, and smelled sweet candy corn, and knew she disappeared.

"What's wrong, Haley?" He muttered, standing and brushing dirt off of his sweater. He was worried about the spirit he considered a sister and a best friend, and decided to talk with the Guardian she was closest to.

But when he found Pitch, he told Jack to go away and leave him alone. He wasn't crying like Haley had been, but he sounded upset as well. When Jack mentioned the Halloween spirit's name, Pitch wordlessly sent Incubo to chase him out of the lair.

"What the heck's going on?" The Guardian of Fun muttered.

"What's gotten Pitch so cranky?"

Jack turned to see Bunnymund standing behind him, cocking his head in confusion. "You got me." He shrugged. "I asked him why Haley was so upset-"

"What? Why's Haley upset?"

"I don't know! That's why I was asking Pitch! But he told me to go away, and had his Nightmare chase me out."

"Didn't you ask Haley why she was upset?"

"Yes, but she screamed at me to leave her alone. Then, she disappeared off to somewhere via candy corn."

Bunnymund massaged the bridge of his broad nose, groaning. "If that whacker's hurt Haley, I'm gonna shove my foot up his sorry ass!"

"Let's try and talk to Haley-"

"Good luck. Not only does she have those weapons, but she's got some mean claws an' teeth. We don't even know where she is."

"I was gonna suggest looking where she most likely would be." Jack deadpanned. "Like at Cupcake's house, or her own house."

"She wouldn't be at Cupcake's house if she's upset."

"Yeah, she was upset all right." Jack sighed. "She was running out of Burgess Woods, sobbing as if she had lost her best friend."

"If anything, she probably went to her own house." Bunnymund said, cursing Pitch in his head. Somehow, he knew the nightmare spirit was involved.

* * *

However, Haley hadn't gone to her own house, nor to Cupcake's. In blind, angry fury, she had reappeared in Mabella's living room. The two spirits had gotten to know each other quite well, exchanging recipes for candy and other foods. Haley had remarked that it was nice having a female friend that didn't constantly look at her teeth like a hyperactive dentist.

Mabella had been sitting on her couch, brushing one of her fawns, Alexandre. When Haley suddenly appeared in the living room, the fawn jumped in surprise and ran out of the living room, bleating in fright.

Mabella wordlessly waved away the smoke, blinking in surprise when she saw Haley. "Haley? What's wrong?" She asked, seeing her new friend's reddened eyes and tear-soaked cheeks.

"Oh, I came here?" She sniffled, silently telling the love spirit that she wasn't thinking when she reappeared in her living room. "_Lo siento_. [I'm sorry.]"

"Haley, what's wrong?" Mabella asked again gently. "What's gotten you so upset?" She patted the couch next to her and set the brush on the table beside the couch.

Haley sat on her haunches on the couch, licked her paw, and cleaned the tears from her cheeks. Mabella grabbed a pink box of tissues from the coffee table and held them out to the still-crying cat. Haley took a tissue and blew her nose. "_Discúlpeme._ [Excuse me.]" She mumbled. Hiccupping and sniffling, she explained her and Pitch's conversation, including what had happened Valentine's Day night. "He claims it isn't because of that," She said, clutching the wadded tissue in her paws. "But I still can't believe it. I don't know why he suddenly doesn't want to be my friend; especially when he was the one who wanted friends in the first place."

Mabella listened silently until Haley stopped, blowing her nose, again, on a fresh tissue. "You say that he said he had been 'thinking that way' for three months?"

"_Sí_."

"And how long have you two been friends?"

"Technically, since October. Our relationship kind of…skyrocketed on New Year's Eve, when I kissed him. Ever since, we had been, I guess you could say, romantic…until after Valentine's Day."

"Didn't someone tell me that before you met Pitch, he had been quite lonely?"

"_Sí_. Jack said that he expressed want to be believed in, and for a friend or family. But why would he not want that when he has it? I don't understand."

"Perhaps he's confused and scared. I know it's ironic that _le Boogie Man_ would be scared, but bear with me. He's spent hundreds and hundreds of years alone, _oui_? But now he has not one, but four new friends. Five, if you count _moi_. [me] Not to mention you two had been…let's say, quite romantic. He may have never anticipated it to go so far."

"But why is he pushing me away?" Haley asked.

"I don't know, Sugar. Perhaps he finds solace in truly being alone. Give it time, and I'm sure he will come around."

"If he don't, I'm kickin' him clear to the Man in the Moon."

Both female spirits looked over the couch to see Bunnymund and Jack standing behind. "Before you ask, we heard only enough that Pitch hurt Haley." Jack said.

Mabella repeated what Haley had told her. "I would repeat that giving time should make him come around, but I suppose someone could, how do you say, 'talk sense into him'?" The love spirit smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'd be happy to, love." Bunnymund nodded, punching one fist into his open palm.

"I'll hold him down." Jack volunteered.

"Don't hurt him too badly, _por favor_? [please?]" Haley asked.

"…No promises, sheila."

* * *

Deep in his dark lair, Pitch pace around the room, hands clasped behind his back. He felt very bad for hurting Haley, but something in his mind told him that their friendship, not to mention their romantic relationship, wouldn't last forever, much less long. Hopefully, she would come to understand.

Suddenly, the door to the room he was in was kicked open. Before he could react, something, or someone, kicked him to the ground. He landed hard with a grunt. Then, someone punched him in the side, kicked him up in the air, grabbed his arm, and slammed him on his back on the ground, knocking the breath out of him. His hands were frozen onto the floor. "Frost!" He snarled, seeing that Jack had also frozen the door so no one could get in or out.

Someone with large feet planted one foot on both of Pitch's legs, pinning him completely on the floor. Looking up, he saw a fuming Pooka, fists clenched. "What is the meaning of this?!" Pitch snapped.

"Shut up!" Bunnymund yelled. "This is about you hurtin' Haley! An' don't deny it! She told us everything!"

"Pitch, what were you thinking?" Jack asked. He wasn't yelling, but he wasn't not angry either. "You basically told me that you wanted friends. Haley becomes your friend, and more, and you push her away. What were you thinking?"

"You think it will last forever?" Pitch grunted, trying to shift his shoulders, which were starting to ache. "No one really wants to be friends with the Boogie Man! And especially wouldn't want to be in a romantic relationship either."

"What are you, stupid?" Bunnymund asked. "Of course she'll want to be your friend forever, and…and more." Even though his crush on the Halloween spirit had diminished, he still acted like a big brother to her; meaning, he was protective of her.

"You don't know what it's like! You don't know what it's like to be alone for thousands of years! To have no one! No friends, no family! You don't know what it's like to be alone, to know that everyone hates you!"

"Bunny, let me talk to him." Jack said.

Sighing, Bunnymund nodded, but didn't lift his foot off of Pitch's legs. Jack crouched down by Pitch's head. "Pitch, believe me, I know how it feels to be alone. Especially how it feels to be unliked."

"But you haven't been alone for thousands of years." Pitch countered.

"Nonetheless, I know how it feels. And Haley knows how it feels to be alone. Why would you push her away after she said she would be your friend? She obviously cares about you."

"…It won't last forever." Pitch said, sighing. "Something keeps telling me that our friendship, and especially our romantic relationship, won't last. That she'll realize that I'm not worth being friends with."

"Pitch, you're an idiot." Jack shook his head. "Do you really think Haley would one day, out of the blue, just not want to be friends with you? She was really adamant about being your friend last year. Remember how she chewed us out last October?"

"Yes."

"Do you really think she'll want to not be your friend? After all that effort? She really cares for you, Pitch. And you really hurt her. I heard her scream, and saw her running out of Burgess Woods, sobbing. When I asked her what was wrong, she just screamed to leave her alone."

Pitch glanced down, not wanting to meet anyone's eye. He hadn't realized he had hurt Haley so much so that she was outright sobbing.

"You broke her heart, Black." Bunnymund scowled, crossing his arms. "She's over at Mabella's. An' she still cares about you. She asked me not to hurt you too much, even though you deserve it."

"Pitch, I think you should apologize," Jack said, still crouched by the nightmare spirit's head. "And really think about what you think, or what 'the voices' tell you. She really likes you, and really wants to be your friend, maybe even more."

"We heard what happened on Valentine's Day." Bunnymund added bitterly.

"Mabella also has the idea that some time apart will help cool everything down. So, wait a while, and either find Haley, or let her find you, and talk over everything."

"…All right, I'll try." Pitch nodded. "Could you release me…please?"

Bunnymund stepped off of Pitch's leg, and using his boomerangs, smashed the ice encasing his hands on the floor, as well as the ice on the door. He sat up with Jack's help and rolled his shoulders, which had fallen asleep by then. "I mean it, Pitch," Jack said. "Talk to Haley, and realize she won't 'not want to be your friend.' She really cares about you. Enough to not let Bunny figuratively kill you." He and the mentioned Pooka left via tunnel.

Pitch stood up and glanced at where the tunnel closed. He sighed heavily, rubbing his eyebrows with his pointer finger and thumb. Now that he had heard how Haley reacted, he felt horrible. Even though he agreed it was a good idea, it was going to be hard waiting for Haley to go to him, or for him to find her, whether it was a day or a month.

* * *

**A/N I had trouble finding a good ground to start this chapter, but once I started it, I finished it relatively quick.**

**I think I wrote Haley's breakdown kind of well; meaning, I think it'd be realistic. Plus, if you can't really tell, she's much more emotional. That'll be explained in the next chapter ;)**

**Out of all the Guardians, save for Pitch, Haley's closest to Jack and Bunnymund. Jack was the first Guardian she met, and Bunnymund and her just share a sort of kinship because they're both animals, have good relationships with kids, and have popular holidays. They're her best friends, if not almost her brothers.**

**The most interesting part to write was Jack and Bunnymund confronting Pitch. Of course Bunny's gonna want to beat Pitch to a pulp, but he promised Haley he wouldn't hurt him too bad. The only thing Jack really did, aside from talk to Pitch (I figured they'd be good friends, having been alone and unliked in the past) was freeze Pitch's hands to the floor, and freeze the door shut so the Nightmares wouldn't interfere. He's mad at Pitch too, but he has a bit more self-control than our favorite Australian rabbit.**

**I didn't say in _Toxic Wings_, which I also updated (it's only two chapters away from being finished, BTW) but at the end of July, my family and I are flying out west to Vegas and California for vacation. It's the second time me and my parents flew, though I was barely a year old at the time, so it's gonna be both exciting and kinda scary (I'm still not sure whether we need a doctor's note about my arm or not because it has metal in it from surgery [it was broken back in April 2012] and everyone who first heard about it commented about it making noise at the airport metal detection place) We're gonna be gone for a couple of weeks, so if I'm not active between the end of July and middle of August, I'm on vacation. I'll try and update as much as I can until then though. I might be able to finish _Toxic Wings_, and if I feel like it, start another fanfic.**


	6. Chapter 5

******A/N As always, I own only my two RotG OCs, Haley O' Eve and Mabella Amour. The rest, being the characters and mentioned plot of the movie, are owned by Dreamworks and William Joyce.**

******Devilgirl123: Hopefully it'll get worked out soon.**

******Mocarela: Most of the time, yeah (though I heard Guardians of Ga'Hoole, which is based on a book series, wasn't good) You really should watch it. It's not the best, but it's really good; it made me look at nature differently for a while, and I really liked how Mandrake was a good family man, as opposed to the cliche/trope that villains are bad family people. Plus, his bat cloak's cool as hell.**

******Don't describe things like that to me! They're funny and scary at the same time XD I don't really know much about emos other than what you described, and I'm not against them either.**

******This chapter she finds out :3 Sometimes I'm not sure how much I'll put in a chapter until I actually write it out. When I plan stories, I don't plan by the chapter; I just imagine the plot, and write out the chapters, not worrying about how many chapters there'll be. Otherwise, I wouldn't be so surprised that _Toxic Wings_ has nearly 50 chapters.**

******Thanks :) Pitch wouldn't really be killed, since he survived getting thrown off of a building, landing hard on a car, and on the pavement without even a scratch, but I don't think that would deter Bunny. He'd probably have some bruises and broken bones at least.**

******Thanks :) I'll be posting a journal on DeviantART when the end of the month's closer.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

For the next month, Pitch and Haley didn't see one another at all. But even though they didn't meet up, one was in the other's thoughts.

Pitch traveled across the world, lost in his thoughts. At some point, he saw a concert by an American band called Imagine Dragons. They were singing a song called "Demons," which seemed to be very popular. He recalled seeing a music video for the song on a store television.

He stopped and listened to the song over the screams of the watching fans and giant drum the band used. The lyrics really spoke to him, and somewhat described his current situation. And it reminded him of something else that he didn't tell Haley, or even Jack and Bunnymund: he was dangerous.

Bringing nightmares and fear to even the bravest of hearts may not seem very dangerous, but in the right amount, fear can kill. Whether fear kept someone from moving to avoid getting seriously hurt or killed; even nightmares weren't to be played around with. The fictional character, Freddy Krueger, may be just that, fictional, but sometimes, truth was stranger than fiction. The film, _A Nightmare on Elm Street_, was loosely inspired by events in the 70s, with people experiencing horrific nightmares. Said nightmares led to insomnia, sleep deprivation, and eventual death in their sleep, despite them having no medical issues.

Although the Nightmare franchise was still popular almost thirty years after its first release, Pitch wasn't proud of creating nightmares so bad that they actually killed. He had been in a bad mood during the 70s, especially during the time the killer nightmares had occurred, and he still regretted it. Even though he was the Boogie Man, even he wouldn't ever kill any humans, much less children. If all humans died, it wouldn't be just the Guardians fading away to nothing.

It was that moment nearly forty years prior that was also another reason Pitch pushed Haley away. Even though they couldn't really technically die, he would never forgive himself if he hurt Haley even in her dreams.

As the Imagine Dragons song ended, and the cheers volume increased, if that were possible, Pitch turned away and melted into the darkness, as silent as a shadow.

* * *

At about the same time, nearly on the other side of the world, Haley paced around her house. Even though the States where Pitch was currently was at night, it was early afternoon at the haunted house in Spain. And while she wasn't stuck in her thoughts, she wasn't faring any better.

She was still depressed about her last "conversation" with Pitch. Like many other girls, she took to eating ice cream straight from the tub. She didn't lie in the bathtub; she never set foot in a bathtub, being scared of water. The only way she got clean was either by her own tongue or the shower.

When she ate her ice cream, she sat at the table. She was eating mint-flavored ice cream, which was her favorite flavor. But as soon as she was finished, and threw away the empty carton, her stomach turned somersaults. Clasping a paw over her mouth, she ran to the bathroom, shoved the toilet seat open, and coughed up not only the ice cream, but her breakfast of scrambled eggs and fish as well.

Groaning, Haley pushed herself up with one paw, flushed the toilet, stood up, and washed her mouth out in the sink. "What is wrong with me?" She muttered, staggering out of the bathroom.

For the past few weeks, when she ate anything, not just ice cream, she would vomit it back up minutes or hours later. Plus, she had been having strange cravings. For example, she didn't usually eat eggs until lunch, if at all. But her stomach wanted eggs at breakfast that morning. And she had been feeling more lethargic than usual as well. She was sometimes too tired to play with her variously-sized yarn balls, which was definitely different, as she never seemed too tired to play with yarn.

Haley lay on her back on the floor, and closed her eyes, sighing heavily. Between Pitch shutting her out of his life, her strange food cravings, and her on-and-off-again upset stomach, her life was quite chaotic and uneasy. _What could have gotten me sick?_ She wondered. _Let's see. The only different things I ate were at Mabella's house. I drank wine, and went home with Pit—_

Her eyes snapped open. "No, it couldn't be possible." She muttered, glancing down at her stomach. She was already chubby, and she didn't see any differences. But it couldn't hurt to be one hundred percent sure.

She rolled to her feet and trotted into the living room. She pulled a medical book from her two-story-tall bookshelves, and thumbed through the pages, glancing over illness symptoms, until she found what she was looking for. _Nausea…food cravings…lethargy…_¡No podría ser eso! [It couldn't possibly be that!] She slammed the book shut, grabbed a candy corn, and threw it on the ground at her feet. She disappeared in billows of sweet-smelling yellow, white, and orange smoke.

She reappeared in North's workshop at the North Pole. She trotted to his office and knocked on the door. "Come in!" The Russian-accented man called out.

Haley pushed open the door to find North carving out an airplane from a block of ice with a small pickaxe. "It looks _precioso_. [lovely]" She smiled, despite the troubling thought in her mind.

"Ah, Haley!" North laughed, standing and setting his tool down. "Good to see you! How goes it with Pitch?"

She grimaced. "You heard."

"Kitten, everyone knows. Tooth and Sandy are most angry about it."

"Bunny didn't react very well either." Haley added. "Um, are one of your yetis…can one examine me? Medically?"

"Why? Are you ill?"

"…I honestly don't know." She hugged her arms, tail twitching.

North raised an eyebrow, and suddenly yelled, "Celina!"

A yellowish-brown female yeti came in, barking in her native language. "Haley needs medical examine." North said.

Nodding, Celina led Haley to a room that smelled of chemicals and cleaner. Haley sat on the examination table and explained her troubling symptoms, as well as her and Pitch's night on Valentine's Day. "I wondered if that was the cause…but it seems so _descabellada_. [far fetched]"

Celina nodded, humming in thought, as she examined the cat.

About ten minutes later, Haley walked out of the room, followed by Celina. The cat's eyes were wide, and her tail lashed back and forth. "Well? Are you ill?" North asked, having been standing by the door.

"Not necessarily." Haley muttered.

Celina whispered in North's ear. The Russian man's bright blue eyes widened in astonishment. "You're what?! You did what with Pitch?!"

"He doesn't know!" She held out her paws. "I mean, he obviously knows about Valentine's Day, but he doesn't know the other thing; I just found out barely five minutes ago. Until I tell him, could you keep this between you, me, Celina, and the lamppost?"

"This will come out eventually," He patted her stomach. "Whether you only tell Pitch or not."

"I know. But for now, please keep it a secret?"

"…My lips are sealed." North made a zipping motion in front of his mouth.

Haley hugged him. "_Gracias_, North. _Gracias_, Celina." She left via candy corn.

North glanced at Celina. "Are you one hundred percent sure?"

Celina nodded, grunting. "…I wonder if Man in Moon has something to do with it." North mused, stroking his beard.

* * *

That night, Haley was sitting on her roof, staring up at the moon. She didn't really think much of the Man in the Moon because when she first awoke as Haley O' Eve, he only told her her name and purpose. Nothing else, even when she asked him.

"…Why did this happen?" She muttered. "How could it? I don't understand." She scowled up at the moon. "How can you just sit up there and do nothing, while I am down sitting here, alone and confused?! I don't even…I don't even have the person I want to be with the most." Her ears tilted down in sadness as she sighed.

A ribbon of black sand danced across her nose, making it twitch and her sneeze. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the black sand fly through the air towards the woods that was near her house. She climbed down off of the house and onto the ground, and took off after the sand. A memory surfaced in her mind:

_The black sand only went faster into the forest, seeming to laugh mockingly. Haley jumped over rocks, and crawled under fallen logs, still after Pitch. "Get back here, you coward!"_

_Suddenly, she crashed into something tall and black, and fell onto her back. Shaking her head, she looked up into the eyes of Pitch Black, who looked very insulted. Haley briefly noticed his eyes seemed to resemble a solar eclipse._

_"Coward?" He snarled. "You dare call _me_ a coward? Even when your very species' name is used in the term, 'scaredy-cat'?"_

_Hissing, Haley jumped to her feet, and backed away. "Do _not_ insult my family name!"_

_"Touched a nerve, didn't I?"_

_"Enough talk, _Negro_! Let's dance!" She ran at Pitch, preparing to slash at him with her claws._

Only this time, there was no tall and black object for her to crash into. She slowed to a halt, finding a large hollow in the trees. She remembered she had dropped one of her pumpkin bombs after confronting Pitch, and a child later found it and threw it at a tree, making it explode. After hearing about that, Haley felt so guilty, she was nearly sick. Pitch had found her, hugged her, and whispered that it was an accident and that no one was hurt.

Back then, it baffled her, as she still thought he was evil. But now…she would give anything for him to do it all over again.

Haley could almost hear upbeat Spanish music. Her tail twitched to the beat, and the black sand floated around her, around her waist and paws, almost taking her into the dance. She chuckled, remembering after she had said "let's dance," intending to fight the nightmare spirit, Pitch had taken it seriously and pulled her into a dance: the Salsa.

Eyes closing, Haley found herself starting to dance without a partner. But then she felt the black sand materialize on her waist and over one paw, dancing along with her. Eventually, she felt herself being dipped backwards. She barely registered her witch hat falling off as she reopened her eyes. Pitch was still holding her as he gazed down at her. He slowly brought her to her feet and hugged her close. After a few seconds, she hugged him back, rubbing her head against his chest as she purred.

Several minutes later, Pitch released Haley so she could retrieve her hat, and he followed her back into her house. "…I suppose I have some explaining to do." He smiled weakly.

Haley looked over her shoulder at him, giving him a look that said "yes, you do."

Sighing, Pitch said, "I only did what I did because…I thought that someday, you would 'realize' I'm not worth being anyone's friend _or_ lover."

Haley blinked at him in surprise. "Are you…you're such _un idiota_. [an idiot]" She shook her head.

"So I've been told. But that's not it. Haley…fear can be deadly-"

"No!" She held up a paw. "You stop right there, Pitch Black! I can take care of myself, and you can control fear and your Nightmares. I am not a weak kitten."

"No, you definitely aren't." Pitch agreed.

"Pitch…do you really think that if I don't want to be _tu amigo_, [your friend] that I would go through all that effort last year? Or thoroughly convince the other Guardians that you aren't as bad as you seem?" She stepped forward and hugged him. "You're more than just my best friend, Pitch. And when you pushed me away…and I didn't know why…you broke my heart." She let the tears fall down her cheeks.

Grimacing, Pitch crouched down and let Haley curl up in his arms. "I'm sorry, Haley," He whispered, hugging her to his chest. "I'm so sorry I hurt you." He kissed her head. "I'll never hurt you again. I promise. I couldn't stay anyway."

"You couldn't?" She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"No." He shook his head, brushing a tear away from her face with his thumb. "You're my dearest friend."

Haley smiled and leaned her head against his chest. After a beat, the smile faded away. "Um…perhaps we should be more than friends?"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"It's just…you remember Valentine's Day night?"

"Yes…why?"

"Well…you see…_Estoy embarazada_. [I'm pregnant.]"

* * *

**A/N As of now, _Toxic Wings_ is officially done! So this fanfic is my only active one. I might start another fanfic (either Felidae or Rock & Rule; I may post a poll to decide either one)**

**I tried to find out when _Imagine Dragons'_ first concert with Demons was, but I couldn't find straight answers. In this story, the year's ambiguous (I'm not really sure when the film itself took place) but the month in this chapter is at least April. Also, the music video is Imagine Dragons singing at a concert, and a few people remembering troubling times. The music video itself was dedicated to a fan of the band, who died of cancer last year, and was about my age (I was born near the end of 1995)**

**The info about _Nightmare on Elm Street_ is actually true in that it's loosely based on true events. I'd like to think that in this universe, Pitch was in a really bad mood in the 70s, and so we can thank him for Freddy Krueger and NoES (I personally have seen only the first film, but plan on seeing more; I also have a Freddy Krueger glove, which I got for Christmas a couple years ago :3)**

**I like mint ice cream, but my favorites are Ben and Jerry's Caramel Sutra and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough; the caramel and cookie dough bites are my favorite parts :3 The part with Haley's rough day is just some foreshadowing for what was revealed at the end of this chapter, though you guys can probably guess by other foreshadowing, and the prophecy in the prologue/story summary.**

**I think the scene where Haley was in the woods, dancing with the sand, and the sand materialized into Pitch would be a beautiful movie scene. I always like imagining some scenes in fanfics as movie scenes.**

**Lately I've been thinking about what Halloween costume I want to wear (yes, I still dress up) Right now, my number one choice, for sure, is a female version of Heath Ledger's the Joker from _The Dark Knight_, one of my favorite films and Jokers. Though I'm kind of on the fence about doing the scars. Look up Heath Ledger's Joker pictures, and you'll see what I mean.**


	7. Chapter 6

******A/N As always, I own only my two RotG OCs, Haley O' Eve and Mabella Amour. The rest, being the characters and mentioned plot of the movie, are owned by Dreamworks and William Joyce.**

**Devilgirl123: We'll see in this chapter ;)**

**Mocarela: I read the first book, but I barely remember it. It seems to draw a bit of inspiration from Warriors, which is a big series detailing feral cats in separate packs. It has one of the biggest fandoms, and it's a pretty good book series. It'd definitely make a great movie/TV series.**

**No kidding. I once had a mini-nightmare with Freddy Krueger, and it was kinda scary, but I didn't wake up screaming though.**

**Thanks :) I might have a moment like that where Pitch talks about his past to Haley.**

**No, the scars for the costume aren't scary-looking. I'm just saying I'm not sure how hard they'll be to make with the scar wax and whatnot. I tend to have trouble with things sticking to me, like fake fingernails are always falling off of my own, no matter how much glue and pressure I use. So I'm not sure how good the scar wax will stick to my face. If I find an easy tutorial and/or method, I may add the scars. The Grovyle costume actually took months to make, and was kinda expensive. Plus, when I put it on to take the pictures, I was sweating and panting in the mask alone.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Pitch's eyes widened in shock. Of course, he knew Spanish, and could understand what Haley had said: she was pregnant. With his child.

"Pitch?" Haley looked up at him, holding her breath. "Say something."

"…How?" He asked numbly.

"Must I remind you—"

"Haley, please, this isn't really the time for jokes." He let her back on the floor, and they both stood up. "What I mean is since we're basically immortal, there isn't really any need for us to…reproduce."

"I know." She nodded. The extremely emotional part of her brain screamed that he wasn't happy, but the logical part won over, telling her that he was being logical, and not against her pregnancy. "I don't know how it happened either, but it happened."

"…Somewhat ironic that the baby was conceived on Valentine's Day." Pitch chuckled lightly.

"So…you're not upset?"

"Upset? Why on earth would I be upset?"

"You don't seem to like chil—"

"Children don't like me." He pointed out. "But since your little Burgess Group, or whatever you call them, seem to be taking a liking to me, I've somewhat changed my views about children. Besides, they, and a very rare select few adults, are literally the only things keeping us alive."

Haley nodded in agreement. "Well, according to my calculations, in November, we'll have our own child." She laid a paw on her stomach. On the surface, she didn't look very different, as she was always somewhat chubby from eating sweets nearly everyday. But when she pressed her paws against her stomach, Haley could feel that it felt a bit firmer.

Pitch laid his hand on Haley's paw, smiling. She smiled back. No words needed to be spoken.

* * *

Several weeks later, around the very beginning of May, a comet flew over Earth, flashing brightly for a brief moment. Even though no one saw the flash, the Guardian Stone, which was what the Man in the Moon used to communicate with the Guardians, began flashing for a few minutes. One of the yetis saw it, and alerted North. The Russian Guardian of Wonder called the other Guardians, including Haley and Mabella, to his Workshop.

Haley and Pitch had arrived first. The former had brought a few chocolate-covered peanut butter cups she had made herself to eat. Mabella and Bunnymund arrived afterwards. Haley thanked Mabella for her advice while Pitch was avoiding her, and thanked Bunnymund for setting him straight and not killing him. "You look beautiful, Haley," The love spirit said. "Your fur looks thicker and glossier. You're almost _éclatant_. [glowing]"

"_Gracias_." Haley smiled, licking the melted chocolate off of her paws.

Tooth flew in, immediately frowning when she saw Haley's snack. She began lecturing her about eating candy daily. "_Por favor_, Tooth, I am not in the mood for lectures." Haley frowned.

"Is Pitch still—"

"I'm right here." Pitch said.

"I'm just in a somewhat tense mood." The Halloween cat said.

Before Tooth could ask why, Jack and Sandy flew in. The Guardian of Fun, raised an eyebrow at Haley. "Um…why the peanut butter cups?"

"It's just a snack," Haley said, eating another. "I've been kind of craving them."

"…But Fuzzy, I thought you hated peanut butter."

"Yeah, you told me once you hated peanut butter too, Kit." Bunnymund agreed.

Haley's ears tilted in realization. She had no way to explain why she was eating, much less craving, a food she didn't like. She glanced at Pitch, who briefly shrugged his shoulders; he didn't have an excuse for either.

Before anyone could say anything else, North stepped in. "Ah, hello, fellow Guardians!" He said jollily. He sniffed the air and asked, "Do I smell peanut butter?"

"Why are we here, North?" Pitch asked.

"Last night, Man in Moon sent a prophetic comet."

"A what?" Mabella asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sometimes the Man in the Moon sends prophecies in the form of comets." Bunnymund explained.

"Come, gather around the Guardian Stone." North said, leading everyone to the tall blue stone.

"Are we getting a new Guardian?" Tooth wondered out loud.

"Haley deserves to be one." Jack remarked.

Bunnymund and Pitch nodded in agreement. "I haven't discovered my purpose though." Haley pointed out, eating another peanut butter cup.

"Haley? I thought you hated peanut butter." North said.

Before she could say anything in return, the stone glowed brightly, and in dark-blue lettering, a few sentences formed in the stone:

**Created on the Day of Love,  
From the Keeper of All Hallow's Eve,  
By the King of Fear, born on the first day of the eleventh month.  
And on the annual day of his birth,  
He will raise the spirits of the past,  
So that they may be reunited with their love ones once again.**

The spirits and Guardians, save for Haley and Pitch, glanced among each other in confusion. Haley's ears bent back slightly, eyes widening, and backed away. Pitch watched her in confusion. North gave her a knowing look.

"I don't think it's talking about a new Guardian." Jack said.

"Gee, ya think?" Bunnymund asked.

"But it's talking about something, or some_one_," Tooth pointed out. "It mentioned a he twice."

"'Created on the Day of Love,'" Mabella reread. "So, whoever it is was conceived on Valentine's Day, and will be born on the first day of November."

"What does 'by the King of Fear' mean?" Bunnymund asked.

"Perhaps it means Pitch?" The love spirit suggested. "Meaning he helped conceive the subject of _la prophétie?_ [the prophecy?]"

"'From the Keeper of All Hallow's Eve.' Didn't Halloween used to be called 'All Hallow's Eve'?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Tooth nodded. "And the only 'Keeper' is Haley."

Bunnymund nodded in agreement, holding a finger to his chin. "So that means…" Everyone turned to look at Haley and Pitch.

"…Eh-heh, I suppose I have some explaining to do." Haley smiled meekly.

* * *

**A/N This chapter was gonna be shorter. I was originally gonna end it after the prophecy was read, but it seemed a bit short for my taste, so I added the rest in. I think it turned out better in the end.**

**I'm trying to kinda mix cat and human pregnancies for Haley, because while she's still a cat, she's somewhat human as well. In doing a little cat research, I read that pregnant females do sometimes experience morning sickness. Plus, instead of a couple months, as kinda implied, Haley's pregnancy will last for about nine months.**

**If you know me, you'll know I'm allergic to nuts, so I've never tasted peanut butter. I HAVE tasted soybutter (made from soybeans) which my mom and others say tastes the same as peanut butter. I personally like it. I thought it'd be interesting that Haley would be craving and eating something she normally hates. When coming up with something, peanut butter immediately came to mind.**

**And so the prophecy comes to light.**


	8. Chapter 7

******A/N As always, I own only my two RotG OCs, Haley O' Eve and Mabella Amour. The rest, being the characters and mentioned plot of the movie, are owned by Dreamworks and William Joyce.**

**Mocarela: Hmm, I've actually never heard of "flour glue" but maybe I'll do a bit of research and try it as a test before Halloween.**

**Thanks :) Plus, they'll start planning baby showers, even though Haley's barely pregnant as is XD**

**Devilgirl123: She will :)**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"So, let's get this straight," Bunnymund said, pacing around the living room. Haley, Jack, and Sandy were sitting on a couch, Tooth was still hovering, Pitch stood by the couch near Haley, and North stood on the other side of the couch. "After Valentine's Day, and while Pitch and Haley weren't talking, Haley was experiencing morning sickness, cravings, tiredness, an' slight mood changes, an' her stomach's gettin' thicker. So, she goes here to get 'medically tested,' and when Pitch starts talkin' to her again, he, she an' North are the only ones who know Haley's pregnant. An' they don't tell the rest of us for…how long?"

"About a month." Pitch answered. "She's the one who wished to keep it secret, not I."

"Why?" Jack asked.

Haley shrugged. "I don't really know. It's something that shouldn't happen…and I didn't know how you all would react."

"I can understand that." Mabella said.

"I had no idea it would be the result of a prophecy though." Haley added. "But it makes more sense…are you all mad?"

"Mad?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "I'm not mad. Sandy, are you mad?"

He shook his head and turned to Mabella and Tooth with a questioning expression. "No, we're not mad." Tooth and Mabella shook their heads. "Bunny?" The love spirit asked. "Are you upset?"

"…Not really." He shrugged. "Just a bit bewildered about the whole thing, I suppose."

"See? No one is mad." North smiled, coming around to stand next to Pitch. "We are all happy, Pitch and Haley aren't avoiding each other," He slapped Pitch on the shoulder, making him grunt in surprise. "And come eleventh month, the Guardian family will welcome new family member!"

Mabella and Tooth both squealed happily, startling everyone else, and began chattering away about throwing Haley a baby shower. "No, no, no," Haley shook her head. "I don't need _un baby shower_! [a baby shower]"

"Nonsense!" Mabella chuckled. "Every mother-to-be needs a baby shower."

"Have you thought of any names?" Tooth asked.

"It has barely been a month since I found out—"

"But you've been pregnant for three months," Mabella pointed out.

"So? There is no time limit for deciding names." Haley countered. "I could figure one out after he is born for all I care."

As the girls argued, Jack said proudly, "I guess I'm gonna be an uncle."

"You?" Bunnymund scoffed.

"Sure! Haley considers me a brother. Besides, I'd be a pretty cool and fun uncle. I'm the Guardian of Fun after all."

"You'd be more like the irresponsible uncle." Bunnymund deadpanned.

"And you're the boring uncle." Jack countered with a smirk. Sandy chuckled silently.

Bunnymund remained silent and in thought. He hadn't fully realized with Haley having a baby, and him being her surrogate brother, he would be said baby's uncle. He still had about six months to get used to the idea, but six months could be quite a while.

* * *

While the Guardians were happy and ecstatic about the upcoming baby, there were people who weren't as pleased.

The Guardian Stone at North's Workshop wasn't the only place that received the prophecy. Little goblin-like creatures existed that wore cloaks that made them invisible to humans, though not to Guardians and other spirits. These creatures, called Deathlins, caused the accidents and non-accidents that caused the deaths of creatures. For example, one cracked the ice under Jack when he died and became Jack Frost, and another smashed Haley's head with a fallen rock, drowning her and turning her into Haley O' Eve.

Deathlins worked for the ultimate master of death: Grimm D. Reaper.

As many people portray him, Grimm is a mysterious figure who wears a dark cloak that flows down to the ground and past his hands, and has a hood that shadows his face, leaving only his white, constantly-cross eyes glowing in the shadow. The only parts of his body that show are sometimes his hands, which look like extremely-skeletal, thin, pale-white human hands.

Grimm lived down in a dark cave under the Dead Sea, along with his Deathlins, and several large, beastly dogs called Hellhounds. Grimm's job was to approach a person who had just died, and collect their soul. But after several hundreds of years of doing that, Grimm got lazy, and sent just his Deathlins to collect the souls, so he could watch the rest of the world through a small pool of water when certain creatures were going to die. Said pool was another portal to which the Man in the Moon could communicate through. And Grimm heard the prophecy the Man in the Moon gave to the Guardians.

He sat in a rocky throne, stroking his hidden chin with long fingers. He deciphered that the prophecy meant Haley would give birth to a son on November 1st, and that the child was fathered by Pitch Black. And he also realized something that went over the Guardians' heads: the child would raise the dead.

Grimm wasn't pleased about this. When people died, he was determined to make sure they remained dead. Once in a blue moon, he would allow someone to be reincarnated. And as with Jack Frost and Haley O' Eve, the Man in the Moon would bring them back to life, and turn them into the spirits they were. Both times, Grimm was angry that he interfered with "his work." But now, this was too far.

"This child must not see the light of day." He muttered in a rusty-sounding voice. "But I won't interfere right away. These plans need time to form…and to ripen."

* * *

**A/N I know it's been over a week since I updated. There were two main factors: A) I was in a bit of a writer's block, and B) I've been shifting my stuff from my old laptop to a new one I got as a graduation present (it took me forever to actually turn the thing on; not because it's hard, but because I've been lazy about it) Plus, it's Windows 8, and I'm used to Windows 7, so it took a while to figure things out on it.**

**Like Mocarela and I kinda said, Tooth and Mabella are excited about the new baby, asking about names and planning baby showers.**

**Jack would definitely call himself the fun uncle; especially since he's the Guardian of Fun. Bunnymund's just not sure how to take it all in.**

**And now we're introduced to the villain. Yeah, pretty damn creative of me to use the Grim Reaper as a villain :3 The Deathlins (combination of death and goblins [speaking of which, Rik Mayall, voice actor of Froglip, my favorite character from the Princess and the Goblin, died last month. RIP Mayall]) were inspired by similar creatures from this show, Dead Like Me, that I briefly watched about three years ago in Vegas at my aunt's house. I found it very interesting the way those things worked. It's kind of hard to explain, but the gist of it was explained with the Deathlins' involvement in Jack and Haley's deaths.**

**Even though Grim's a lazy bastard when it comes to his job, he takes it seriously, not wanting the dead to be risen. He barely wants them reincarnated, much less brought back to life. So, he's not gonna take this prophecy well...**

**In a few days, my family and I'll be flying out west for a couple of weeks, so I'll have a period of inactivity again.**


	9. Chapter 8

******A/N As always, I own only my two RotG OCs, Haley O' Eve and Mabella Amour. The rest, being the characters and mentioned plot of the movie, are owned by Dreamworks and William Joyce.**

******Devilgirl123: No, he doesn't. Sorry I took so long updating.**

******Mocarela: Is that supposed to be punny? XD Either way, he is.**

******Thanks :) Sorry I took so long updating.**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Haley stood in the guest room, paw to her chin, and the tip of her tail twitching in thought. Mabella had told her that since she was having a baby, it would need a room of its own. Haley already knew that, but she appreciated the gesture.

The only room that she wasn't using, and that wasn't very important, was the guestroom. She rarely had guests, save for the Guardians, and when they did come over, they always went home. So, Haley figured she could configure the small room into a baby room. It was next door to her own bedroom, so that was a plus as well.

The guestroom was the same as Haley's bedroom, save for it having two twin beds, and being smaller. "Hmm…I think the best thing to do is get rid of _estas camas gemelas_ [these twin beds] and get a crib and diaper-changing table."

Haley was always a cat, and never had a home that had a newborn baby, much less a home, period. So, the only reasons she knew to get a crib and diaper-changing table were because Mabella, whom had been a wet-nurse before becoming the spirit of love, had told her so. "I will help you with anything else you need." The French woman promised. "I was also a midwife, so I can help with that."

Haley hadn't known what a midwife was or what it did, so Mabella had to explain. The Halloween cat had also never had her own kits, so she was naïve to the process of birth as well. "I'm pretty much walking in the dark." She confessed.

"I guess it is good we are _amis_, [friends] _oui_?" Mabella smiled.

Having a whole workshop of hard-working yetis and goofy elves, though the former was more mandatory, North said he would make the crib and diaper-changing table, and anything else. "We are family, and family members help each other," He said to Haley when she tried to object, saying she could find something herself. "Besides, I would have done so anyway, even if you 'convinced me' not to." He winked.

Haley pulled out two candy corns, and threw them at the twin beds, sending them both to North's Workshop in sweet-smelling smoke. They would be taken apart and recycled into the baby furniture.

"Heh. Without the beds, the room looks _mucho más grande._" Haley remarked. She simply emptied the dresser, which was full of dusty clothing that made her have a sneezing fit so badly, her nose looked like a waterfall.

"Hey, Fuzzy." Jack greeted her as she left the guestroom. He had volunteered to help Haley with the room. Taking one look at her nose, and her still lingering sneezes, he grabbed a tissue box out of the bathroom and handed her one of the soft paper clothes.

"_Gracias_." Haley sneezed, taking the tissue and blowing her nose. "I think I may be allergic to dust."

Humming in thought, Jack plugged his nose and waved his staff around the dusty room, covering everything in a thin layer of frost. "What did you do that for?" Haley asked, having gotten over her sneezing fit.

"When it melts, it'll be easier to dust because it won't fly up." Jack answered with a smile.

"Oh, _gracias_, Jack."

"So, you gonna paint the room several shades of baby blue?" He chuckled, elbowing her friendlily in the shoulder. "Since we already know it's a boy, it'll be easy to do the decorating."

"_Aw, cállate._ [Aw, shut up.]" She giggled, pushing him away. "I'm not quite sure yet. Pitch might want to help choose colors as well. Perhaps I won't change the room at all."

Jack glanced into the room. The carpeting was dark-red, the wallpaper was a dark maroon, and the curtains were a lighter shade of red. "Eh…I think a different shade of color would be at least good."

Haley looked in as well, and nodded, "_Si_. I think it would also be a good idea to not just use blue."

"Maybe a good _date_ would be choosing colors and painting the room." Jack suggested.

"Jack Frost, are you trying to seduce me?" Haley batted her eyelashes, laughing when he began sputtering and shaking his head. "I'm just joking." She patted his head. "I know you meant me and Pitch. And that sounds like _una buena idea_. [a good idea]"

* * *

After the frost melted, Jack helped Haley dust the room and remove the wallpaper and remaining furniture—which were a dresser and bedside table that had been between the previous twin beds—leaving the room bare. They were also able to get the carpet ripped off, though not without tearing it into rags, rendering it useless. She asked the winter spirit to retrieve some new carpeting and paint, wanting the carpet to be dark-green, and the paint to be baby blue, dark-gray, and medium-green.

While he was gone, she jumped down the hole at the base of her Haunted Tree into Pitch's lair.

As soon as she landed on the ground, feet first, three Nightmares, including Incubo, sniffed at her. Smiling, she patted their noses, passed Incubo a piece of licorice, and left the sandy horses to find Pitch.

She found him in his bedroom, looking through a large chest, tossing something out every now and then. Haley watched him, paws behind her back. "Um, Pitch?"

"One minute, love." He said. "Trying to find—aha!" He stood up straight, holding a large stuffed animal.

"What's that?" Haley asked, approaching him.

Pitch turned towards her slightly and showed her the toy. It was a black and white cow. It was a bit smaller than a newborn human baby, had tan hooves, snout, and short horns, embroidered brown eyes, and a black tail tuft. It looked old and worn. "Where did you get this?" The Halloween cat asked, taking the toy and turning it in her paws.

"Long before I met you, and before I even became Pitch Black…I had a family. A wife and daughter." He paused, watching for Haley's reaction. She looked up at him, ears perked up in interest. So, he continued, "Before I was Pitch Black, I was known as Kozmotis Pitchiner. I guarded the Nightmares so they wouldn't try to envelope the world in fear."

"Like they tried to do last year?" Haley asked.

"Precisely." He nodded. "My daughter was the light of my life. Her name was Emily Jane." He smiled wistfully, chuckling. "She was quite a rebel, always sneaking out under her mother's nose." His happy face fell into a somber one. "One day…the Nightmares tricked me into thinking they had trapped Emily Jane with them in their prison. When I went in to get her…the Nightmares attacked, and their sand manipulated me, turning into what I am today." He turned away from Haley and stared at his gray, sandy-textured hands. "The next time I saw Emily Jane…she hated me. She hated me for 'forgetting about her,' when in reality, I never forgot about her."

Haley's ears tilted in sadness. "What happened to your wife?" She asked quietly.

"The Nightmares, after turning me into this…this monster, they attacked my house. Emily Jane had snuck out, but her mother…I don't know how, but I know she died."

Haley set the stuffed cow on the ground and hugged Pitch's waist, nuzzling his chest. "You're not a monster." She said. "A monster wouldn't help bring down the Rogue Nightmares, become a Guardian of Fear, thus protecting children all over the earth; a monster especially wouldn't stay with their girlfriend and baby. And I'm not going anywhere."

Pitch smiled and hugged her back. "I'm glad." He whispered into her ear, laying his hand on her belly. She wasn't showing very much, but her belly definitely felt a bit firmer.

"So, was this cow Emily Jane's?" Haley asked.

"Yes, it was." He nodded.

"…What did she look like?"

Not saying anything, Pitch reached into his shirt and pulled out an oval-shaped silver locket, which was already around his neck. He opened it, and showed Haley the picture inside. It was a picture of a young girl with a thin face, long black hair, and deep green eyes. "She's beautiful." Haley said. "What happened to her?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Gumdrop." Pitch chuckled, closing the locket and placing it back in his shirt. "She became Mother Nature."

Haley blinked in surprise, and her jaw dropped. "Mo-Mother Naure?"

"Indeed." He pushed her mouth back shut with a bent finger. "I was looking for the cow because I thought instead of sitting at the bottom of a chest, collecting dust, it could be given to the baby once he's born."

Haley smiled widely, picking the stuffed animal back up. "That's a great idea, Pitch." She glanced at the ceiling. "I think Jack has the paint and carpeting by now."

"Paint and carpeting? What?"

"I'm remodeling the guest room into _un vivero_ [a nursery] for the baby." Haley explained. "And Jack helped me strip the old carpeting and wallpaper. He thought it would be_ una buena idea_ for both you and me to lay out the new carpet and paint the walls together." She smirked at Pitch's expression. "And no, you're not talking your way out of this. Since we're raising this baby together, we're preparing for it together."

Pitch smirked slightly. "As long as I don't have to paint little designs. Because even though I could sculpt Nightmare Sand into different objects, I was never good at drawing or painting."

"Don't worry; we'll just be painting solid colors."

* * *

Haley found Jack standing by the doorway of the guestroom, with a large roll of dark-green carpeting, three cans of paint, and several brushes. "Did I keep you waiting?" Haley asked.

"Nah, I just stood here for a few minutes. What's that?"

Haley glanced at the stuffed cow she had taken to the house, which looked dirtier in the brighter light of her house. "A stuffed cow Pitch found for the baby. It was his daughter's originally."

"Pitch actually had a family?" Jack blinked in surprise.

"_Si_. It was before he became Pitch Black."

"Wow. Sounds like Pitch has quite a past."

"I think he won't want to be bugged about it." Haley whispered to the Winter Spirit as she heard Pitch come up the stairs. "It was painful enough for him to tell me."

Jack gave the Halloween cat a thumbs up before greeting Pitch. "Ready to do some painting?" He grinned.

"You make it sound like it will be scary." Pitch deadpanned, glancing at the colors, secretly glad Haley didn't simply choose several shades of light blue.

"It might be scary-messy." Jack shrugged. "See you guys later. I'll just see myself out."

"How can you see yourself out? You don't have _un espejo_. [a mirror]" Haley snickered.

Jack had been slowly learning Spanish, being the only one to not understand Haley's mother tongue. And he knew what she said he didn't have. In response, he tossed a small snowball over his shoulder at Haley. When it splattered on her chest, she simply brushed it off, giggling.

* * *

**A/N Okay, there are a few reasons I took so long updating this story: 1. I had a two-week hiatus during early August because my family and I flew out to Vegas for vacation, and I was recovering from the trip for a few days after coming home; 2. I had major writer's block for this chapter, not knowing how to start it or what would even be in it; and 3. for the past several days, I was sick with a cold, and didn't have much energy for writing, even though I was finally able to at least start the chapter. I'm feeling better now, though I still have some mucas in the back of my nose and throat.**

**So, some of the story will be prepping for the baby (I'll post a poll concerning names once names for the baby is talked about in this story; you guys can choose between two pre-chosen names, and the one with the most votes will be the baby's name) including the nursery. To just put it out there, I'm only 18, and never even had a boyfriend, so any information on anything baby-related will be mostly research, but any bit of info I remembered from my cousin's wife having a baby last year. But even I know the baby needs its own room. The colors were a bit tricky to choose, and I didn't want the whole room to be baby blue. So, I decided to spice it up a bit with a couple other colors, but still include some baby blue, since it's kind of traditional.**

**I tried to look up an animal that symbolizes Mother Nature because I want Pitch to still have a stuffed animal from when his daughter was young (BTW, the backstory here was taken from the Rise of the Guardians book [if I call them Guardians of the Galaxy at any point, I apologize, as I saw the movie recently {loved it :3 Me wants stuffed baby Groot} and keep mixing up the two titles] though it was altered a bit for the movie!Canon) I was unable to find anything. However, I found some similar animal symbolism, including "Earth" animals, being cow, dragon, tiger, and turtle. I didn't want to use dragons because that's kinda overused, and a tiger didn't really seem like an Earthy animal. Between a cow and turtle, I like the cow better (probably because I grew up on a farm that the prime animal is cattle)**

**I wanted to put Haley and Pitch painting the room in this chapter, but it was starting to get long, and I really wanted/needed to post this chapter. I'll try my best to not get so behind on my writing, as we don't have big plans in the future, like vacation was. Thank you all for your patience :)**


	10. Chapter 9

******A/N As always, I own only my two RotG OCs, Haley O' Eve and Mabella Amour. The rest, being the characters and mentioned plot of the movie, are owned by Dreamworks and William Joyce.**

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Pitch cracked open the paint cans and set the lids on the floor face-up. "So, how should we go about doing this?" He asked.

"Well, I wanted to at least have baby blue, but I didn't want several different shades of blue." Haley said. "I wanted a little variety, and I wanted some of your taste in as well. That's why I wanted dark-gray as well. And I think wherever the gray goes; the crib should go in front."

"So, where do you think the gray should go?"

Haley glanced around the room. There was only one window, and she envisioned a rocking chair by the window. She glanced from wall to wall, humming in thought, before placing her paw, palm-down, on the paint on the lid of the dark-gray paint, and slapped her paw on the wall on the wall to the left of the window. "Here's the dark-gray wall." She said. "As for the rest of the walls, perhaps a bit of green on the bottom, and the rest would be blue?"

"Hmm," Pitch hummed, wrapping a finger around his pointed chin in thought. "How about we paint the walls green, and the ceiling blue?"

Weighing the opinions, Haley nodded, "That sounds like a good idea."

"And we'll lay out the carpeting afterwards.

The wall with the paw print was painted dark-gray, and the other three walls were painted dusty, medium-green. As they painted, Haley and Pitch got patches and splotches of gray and green paint on them. Sometimes it was by accident, but at some point, Haley playfully swung her brush in Pitch's direction, splashing some green paint on his side. He raised an eyebrow at her, and when she wasn't looking, grabbed her tail and dipped it in the paint bucket. Loudly meowing in shock, she smacked her tail against him until most of the paint from her tail splashed onto him or the floor.

Once the walls were finally painted, and the paint dried, Pitch and Haley retrieved a ladder from outside, and the ceiling of the nursery was painted. Pitch insisted Haley stayed on the ground and that he himself painted the ceiling. After washing herself in the shower, and while Pitch painted the ceiling, she fixed herself a bowl of mint ice cream. Her morning sickness had pretty much passed, and she was able to keep food down.

She sat outside of the room, eating her ice cream, and watching Pitch paint the ceiling. It greatly resembled the sky of a sunny day, minus the sun and any clouds.

After finishing her ice cream, Haley got an idea to add to the green walls. She dipped the palms of her paws in the bucket of blue paint and slapped her paws on the green walls several times, leaving green paw prints. She did this two more times, leaving a few paw prints on each of the blue walls, before washing her paws.

When she went back into the nursery, Pitch had stepped down from the ladder and pounded the lids back onto the paint buckets. "I see you spruced up the walls." He remarked.

"I thought it looked a little plain." She shrugged.

"It looks nice."

Once the paint on the ceiling was dried, Pitch and Haley unrolled the dark-green carpeting, and Pitch used a knife he produced from Nightmare Sand to slice the carpet. Haley found some strong glue, and used it to glue the carpet to the ground. Pitch then shoved the dresser and bedside table back into the room, telling Haley she shouldn't be moving heavy objects. Even though she was a little put out that she couldn't help, at the same time, Haley appreciated Pitch looking out for her. She was still able to direct his where she wanted the furniture to go.

"All we need are crib and diaper-changing table." Haley sighed.

Pitch cringed at the thought of changing diapers again, but didn't say anything. "You know Tooth and Mabella will want to throw you a baby shower soon."

Haley grimaced, but nodded, "I expected as much. Mabella said they would throw it when I'm six months along." _Which will be in two and a half months._

"Have you thought of names?"

"A few, I suppose. Two really stand out though: Renato, and Badilón. They are both Spanish names. Renato means 'to rise again,' and Badilón means 'courageous.' Unless you'd like to suggest another name?"

"No, those sound like good names. Perhaps we should wait to decide on the names?"

"_Sí_, that sounds fine with me."

* * *

While Haley and Pitch painted the nursery and talked about names, down under the Dead Sea, Grimm was plotting away. He knew he only had about six months to deal with the prophesized child. If he were to "deal with it" before it was born, he would have to find its mother: Haley O' Eve.

Haley had slipped from his grasp when she died, having been changed into the spirit of Halloween she was today. As the case had been with Jack Frost, Grimm had been angry at the Man in the Moon for interfering with his work. But as usual, Manny ignored him when he asked why he spared her.

Now, he was wondering if he knew about the prophecy years before it came into light, and changed the cat into Haley O' Eve for that very purpose.

"Mortem!" He snapped, calling his head Hellhound over.

Mortem trotted up to him. He was a tall, black, skeletal-looking dog with a long snout and pointed ears, sharp, red claws and angry-looking eyes, and long, twisted horns.

"Take a team of Hellhounds with you and find Haley O' Eve. But do not make yourself known. Go now, and do _not_ fail!"

Mortem let out a chilling howl, turned on a dime, and revealed large, ragged, dragon-like wings, and took off. Several smaller, similar-looking Hellhounds leapt out of the shadows and followed Mortem.

Grimm sat back in his rocky throne and watched his Hellhounds disappear into the dark, shadowy ceiling. Up above the Dead Sea, the Hellhounds splashed out of the salty lake, with shadows trailing from their hind legs and tails.

Grimm tapped his fingertips together, chuckling darkly to himself.

* * *

**A/N Not much going on in this chapter. I felt the green walls would be a bit plain, and I also thought it'd be cute to have paw prints on the wall, since the baby's mom is an anthro cat.**

**I had found these two names a long time ago, and had them saved on my very old iPod. They are both Spanish names, and have their respective name meanings. The "to rise again" name is to correspond with the baby raising the spirits of the past, as the prophecy says. The "courageous" name is something a bit deeper ;) I tried to find some nonSpanish names that Pitch could suggest, but I couldn't find any I liked, and I really had my heart set on these two names as choices. So, don't say that Haley's not letting Pitch choose any names. She already asked if he wanted to suggest some different ones, and he liked her choices. I really tried guys ^^**

**As I said, I'll post a poll with the two names on my profile. You guys can choose which name you like, and the most popular one by the time the baby is born (or maybe not. I'd like to post another poll in relation to my Felidae fanfic, and I don't think you can have two polls up at once, and I can't have polls on my DeviantART account) will be the chosen name.**

**Aside from Grimm interfering with the Guardians, as I think I said earlier, most of this fanfic will be prepping for the baby. So, a big chapter will be Haley's baby shower, courtesy of Tooth and Mabella :3 I didn't go to my cousin's wife's baby shower...so I may have to do some research.**

**Like I said before, Grimm's lazy, so he makes his Hellhounds do everything XD The main Hellhound's design (BTW, Mortem is Latin for death) was partially inspired by the Pokemon, Houndoom. In case you don't know much or anything about Pokemon, Houndoom is basically like a black and orange Doberman, except with curved horns instead of ears, a forked tail, and sort of bone structures on its back and paws. I added the wings to the Hellhounds as a last-minute decision because...I like wings :3**


	11. Chapter 10

******A/N As always, I own only my two RotG OCs, Haley O' Eve and Mabella Amour. The rest, being the characters and mentioned plot of the movie, are owned by Dreamworks and William Joyce.**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

During the next few months, Haley grew more and more excited about being a mother. When she wasn't assisting her bats and rats with making Halloween candy, she was spending time with Pitch, or visiting Mabella, who was telling her everything she knew about raising babies. "But no matter how much I tell you, there is one thing you can always rely on." The spirit of love said.

"And that is?" Haley asked.

"_Instinct maternel_." She smiled. "Motherly instincts."

As the months passed by, her belly also grew in size. By the time she was six months along, she actually looked like she was pregnant, and not like she had just eaten a large meal.

Before she began truly showing, she was already feeling the kit move inside of her. It felt like her stomach rumbling, but without the noise. She thought it was her stomach rumbling at first, but when she didn't hear any noise, she realized it was the kit moving.

She had been lying in bed at that time. She smiled down at her belly and gave it a few licks before falling asleep.

When Haley became six months pregnant, Tooth and Mabella announced that they would be throwing her a baby shower, ignoring her protests that they didn't need to. "Shall we invite the kids as well?" Tooth asked.

"_¡Oh, sí!_" Haley nodded eagerly. "Mabella, you _must_ meet the children! And we all haven't seen them in so long,"

North volunteered to bring the children in his sleigh to Mabella's house, which would be where the baby shower would be held. "You better go slow," Haley warned him. "I don't want any of the children getting injured."

"Relax, Haley," North said patiently. "Do you really think I would let anything happen to the children?"

"Like I said, motherly instincts." Mabella smiled, scratching the back of Haley's head.

* * *

On the day of the baby shower, in the middle of August, Bunnymund, Jack, and Sandy gathered the Burgess Group, which consisted of Jamie, Sophie, Pippa, Monty, Caleb, Claude, and Cupcake. The children were in their tween years, with Sophie still in her single digits, but they all still believed in the Guardians with all of their hearts.

"Who're the presents for?" Sophia asked, wiggling in her seat next to Bunnymund, having noticed the large, wrapped gifts in the back of the sleigh. To the Pooka's relief, North was making sure the reindeer were pulling the sleigh at a moderate and non-stomach-churning speed.

"For Haley's baby shower." North answered.

"What's that?"

"Remember when Aunt Karen had her baby shower, and got a lot of baby presents?" Jamie asked. "Like baby clothes and toys?"

"Oh yeah!" She nodded. "And then she had Cousin Bobby." She turned to Bunnymund and asked, "Is Haley having a baby?"

"Yes, she is, ankle-biter." Bunnymund nodded, patting her head.

"Who's the dad?" Cupcake asked, turning so she was kneeling in her seat and looking back at Bunnymund and Jack. "Is it Pitch?"

"Yeah." Jack nodded. "It's a long story, but it kinda involves a prophecy. But the gist is the baby is a boy, and will be born the first of November."

"That's after Halloween." Pippa said. "So I guess Haley's having sort of a late birthday present."

"I never thought of it that way, but I guess that's true."

"Where are we going?" Sophie asked.

"To new friend's house," North answered. "She is spirit of love."

"Mabella?"

"That's right." Bunnymund chuckled.

"I can see her house! Everyone hang tight!" North suddenly shouted, slapping the reigns.

Before Bunnymund had a chance to protest, the sleigh sped up to rollercoaster-like speed. He gripped the sleigh tightly and hunkered down in his seat while the kids, Jack, and Sandy whooped and cheered, raising their hands in the air.

The reindeer rose up into the clouds and slowed to a stop by Mabella's house. North jumped down and said, "Bunny, ride is over. You can stop cowering like baby."

Rolling his eyes and grumbling, Bunnymund crawled out of the sleigh and into the clouds. "You can get out, kids. Y'won't fall through the clouds."

Sophie jumped out with a "Whee!" and ran through the clouds, giggling. Jack and Sandy helped the other kids out and led them to the house, leaving North and Bunnymund to lug the sack of wrapped presents to the house.

Mabella opened the door to her house. "Ah, _bonjour_, children." She smiled. "My name is Mabella Amour, but you may call me Mabella."

"Are you the spirit of love?" Claude asked. "I remember my French teacher saying _amour_ means 'love' in French."

"_Oui_." She nodded. "Some might call me Cupid. Do come in, everyone."

Inside, Tooth was flitting about the living room and kitchen, checking over the food, which was a combination of healthy food and candy, the latter of which she didn't like. When she saw the children, she landed and smiled, "Hi, kids! Are you here to see Haley?"

"Yeah!" They nodded enthusiastically.

"Where is she?" Cupcake asked, being the most excited to see the Halloween cat. She was the first to see Haley, and felt an especially strong bond with her.

"She'll be here soon," Mabella said, laying a hand on the girl's head. "For now, would you like to meet my winged fawns?"

"Is Ambre with them?" Sophia asked.

"Yes, she is." The spirit of love chuckled, leading the children into the large paddock. In the corner was a small barn. Ten winged fawns, of different shades of orange and pink, walked and stood about in the paddock. They all had white, dove-like wings, red hooves and heart-shaped noses, large brown eyes; red heart-shaped tags on their right ears, and half of them had budding velvety antlers.

One reddish-orange and pink fawn perked her ears up, and trotted over to Sophia.

"Aww, they're so cute!" Pippa cooed.

"Hi, Ambre!" Sophia giggled, hugging the fawn. Ambre snuffled at her blonde hair and baaed, wagging her small tail.

"Go on and pet them, children," Mabella smiled. "They love being petted, but be gentle, and please don't pull their feathers or ears. And don't jiggle the boys' antlers."

All of the children approached the fawns and petted their heads and scratched behind their ears.

Mabella and Sandy sat on the fence as Jack left to help Bunnymund and North bring in the presents. "How many things did Haley get?" He asked.

"A couple pieces of furniture, and some baby toys and clothes." North said.

"Big furniture." Jack mumbled, then said to Bunnymund, "Mabella and the kids are with the fawns."

Nodding, Bunnymund walked out into the paddock, watching the kids run around with some of the fawns. "We brought the stuff in." He said to Mabella, sitting on the fence next to her.

"_Merci_." She smiled, kissing his cheek. "Have Haley or Pitch arrived yet?"

"No, not yet." He shook his head. "They'll probably both arrive at the same time."

Ambre bounded over to Bunnymund, bleating happily. "Hey there, Ambre." He chuckled, patting her head. "Not gettin' in any trouble, I see?"

"She's still the most adventurous one of the bunch, but she hasn't hurt herself like earlier this year." Mabella said, scratching under the fawn's chin as Sandy scratched behind her ears.

Jack stepped out and said, "I hate to interrupt, but Pitch and the girl of the hour have arrived."

* * *

**A/N As I said in my other current story, I had a bit of writers block for them both, and have been thinking about trying an expensive project.**

**I don't know much about baby showers, so I still need to do a bit of "research." But I think it's like a birthday party, except for the expectant mother, to to an extent, the unborn baby.**

**I'm not sure how old the kids from the original movie would be, as I tend to be terrible with timelines. But I'm pretty confident that they'll be a couple years older, and therefore are approaching early teen years. I feel that with their experiences, they would continue believing in the Guardians into their adult years. But, that's just my opinion.**

**The reason that Sophia already knows about Mabella is because she met her in a oneshot I wrote introducing Mabella; it's called "Ma Bella Amour," and can be found among the rest of my stories. You probably already read it to get acquainted with Mabella though.**

**Sorry that this is short, but I feel it would be better that I leave the chapter at this point.**


	12. Chapter 11

******A/N As always, I own only my two RotG OCs, Haley O' Eve and Mabella Amour. The rest, being the characters and mentioned plot of the movie, are owned by Dreamworks and William Joyce.**

**Devilgirl123: Thanks :)**

**Mocarela: Thanks :)**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Upon hearing that Haley and Pitch had arrived, all of the kids ran into the house. Haley was just walking into the living room. She crouched down as the kids gathered around her. "_¡Hola, niños!_ [Hello, children!]" She smiled.

Cupcake pushed through the crowd to get to her favorite spirit and hugged her. "Hi, Haley! I missed you."

"I missed you too," She smiled, hugging the tween back. "I'm so sorry we haven't been in touch. Things have been rough lately."

"Jack said you only got pregnant because of a prophecy," Jamie said. "Is that true?"

"_Si_, it is." Haley nodded, sitting on her haunches. The kids sat on the floor as well. "All we know is it is a boy, and will be born the first of November."

"My friend said when her mom had a baby, it came later than the due date." Pippa said.

"_Oui_, that can happen," Mabella agreed, sitting on one of the fancy chairs. "But I believe the baby will come on the prophetic date."

"Afternoon, children," Pitch said, coming in and sitting on the sofa.

Sophie trotted over to the Guardian of Fear and climbed onto his lap, surprising him. "Hi, Pitch!" She said gleefully. "It's gonna be Halloween soon!"

"Is it? I had no idea." He smirked. "And do you have a costume idea?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded. "I'm gonna be Haley!"

"Oh, I'm honored, Sophie." Haley chuckled.

"Looks like everyone's here." Bunnymund said, sitting on the couch by Pitch.

"Haley! Those presents are for you." Sophie said, pointing at the pile of presents.

"Oh, are they?" She smiled. "All of them?"

"They're from all of us," North said.

"Perhaps we can have some food first? I feel hungry."

"You're hungry, or the baby?" Pitch asked with a smile.

"I think both of us." She laughed, standing and patting her stomach.

"I have cut-up fruit," Mabella said. "Finger sandwiches, fruit punch, and all sorts of candy."

"Mabella, _que no debería tener._ [you shouldn't have.]"

"Of course I had to. It's not every day I prepare a baby shower for one of my best friends."

"Ew, finger sandwiches?" Sophie groaned, scrunching up her nose.

"They're not made of fingers," Caleb said.

"They're just really small sandwiches." Claude added.

"I like sandwiches." She said, jumping off of Pitch's lap.

"So do I." Monty agreed, pushing his red glasses up.

Mabella and Bunnymund gathered some plates and piled some sandwiches, fruits, and candies on them. Then, they filled small glasses with the dark-pink fruit punch, and handed the glasses and plates to the children.

Pitch shook his head with amusement as Haley put two sandwiches and a large pile of candy on her plate, including licorice-flavored gumdrops, candy corn, and caramel-filled chocolate balls. "Haley, you shouldn't eat so much candy," Tooth said. "Your teeth will be so dirty! Not to mention it can't be good for the baby."

"The baby wants the candy." Haley protested, filling a glass of fruit punch.

"Haley, I've known you for almost a full year, and I'm sure it's you who wants the candy, not the baby."

"Tooth might have a point, kit," Bunnymund said, filling his plate with fruit and sandwiches. "At least have some fruit."

Twitching a whisker, Haley filled another plate with some fruit, and carried both plates into the living room, flicking her tail with a smirk. "That's not what I meant." Bunnymund deadpanned.

"Let her be," Pitch said as Haley returned briefly for her drink. "She eats healthily. Before we left, she had just finished a cheese omelet with fish."

"Eww!" Sophie shuddered.

"It's very good, Sophie." Haley chuckled, popping some candy corn in her mouth.

After lunch, Sophie, Pippa, and Cupcake pulled the Halloween cat to the presents. "All right, I get the hint." She laughed, sitting down by the pile. She picked up one present and shook it near her ear.

"Some of them aren't in boxes." North said as the other Guardians came into the living room as well.

"Whenever I get packages, unless they say 'fragile,' I always have to shake them." She said, tearing the wrapping paper off. "It's a quirk of mine, I suppose."

Near the end of the party, Haley received several baby boy outfits, including a mini-robe that looked like Pitch's and a sailor suit; baby bottles, dishes and utensils, and diapers, and some books and toys. The last one two were the biggest ones, both being about her size when she stood on all fours. The first package she opened was a midnight-blue changing table with white stars. "Ooh, this is _bonito_. [pretty]" Haley said.

"The changing table was recycled from old dresser," North said, waving a hand dismissively. "The crib is best present."

"We all pitched in our own ideas for one special part." Jack winked.

"Oh, I can't wait." Haley said, pulling off the paper.

The crib was a rich dark brown, and the bed inside was midnight-blue with what looked like golden paint spatters. Sitting inside was Emily Jane's stuffed cow, all clean and fluffy. There was also a mobile to be put on one of the back corners of the crib so it hung over the baby's head. The ornaments were a white snowflake, a red present with a green ribbon, a cluster of three white teeth, a green and blue painted Easter egg, a sparkling golden cloud, a black Nightmare, a red heart, and an orange pumpkin.

Haley stared at the crib in silence, laying a paw on the railing. "Haley?" Sophie asked quietly, gently tugging her tail. "Do you like it?"

The others watched her reaction as well. She turned to them, eyes sparkling with tears, and said, "I love it. It's beautiful. I assume the mobile was what everyone pitched in with?"

"Yep." Jack nodded. "The whole family. And it plays a pretty lullaby as well."

"What's the cow from?" Pippa asked.

"It was my daughter's hundreds of years ago." Pitch exclaimed, glancing at the stuffed animal fondly.

"You had a daughter?" Monty asked in awe.

"Indeed I did." The Guardian of Fear nodded. "She became Mother Nature."

"Whoa." All of the kids said simultaneously in awe.

"All right, kiddies," North said, standing up. "I think it's about time to go home."

Lightly complaining, the kids followed him, Jack, and Sandy to the sleigh. Bunnymund and Tooth went with Mabella to help feed the winged fawns.

Pitch smiled as he watched Haley gaze over the crib. "It's so beautiful." She whispered.

"Indeed. North, Bunny, and Jack are taking everything over to your house. I want to show you something."

"What?" Haley asked curiously.

"Come, and I'll show you." He took her paw and led her out of the house and at the edge of the clouds. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bunnymund and Jack gather all of her presents into the sleigh, where the children were sitting. Telling her to stand back, Pitch waved his hands around, causing black sand to trail from his hands and dance in the air. They slowly formed a twisted pirate ship about half the size of her own house.

"Wow!" Haley gasped. "It's amazing!"

"This is the Nightmare Galleon." Pitch said. "It takes a lot of energy and sand to create it, and as such, I only make it for a special occasion. I think this counts as one."

"What do you mean?" She asked as Pitch climbed onto the ship.

"I'll show you." He smiled, holding out his hand.

Glancing from his hand to the ship, Haley slowly laid her paw in his hand. Gripping her paw, Pitch pulled her onto the ship, grabbed the wheel, and steered it higher into the sky.

Haley gasped in shock, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I won't let anything happen to you." He promised. "Look."

She turned to look at the front of the ship. Her jaw dropped at the beautiful scene of the darkening sky and bright, twinkling stars, and a crescent-shaped moon.

"Oh my! It's beautiful!" She exclaimed, moving to stand with Pitch behind her and the ship wheel in front of her. She turned back to Pitch with a soft and affectionate smile. "Thank you. For everything."

"No, Haley. Thank _you_. If it hadn't been for you, I would still be alone and hated."

She laid her paw on his cheek and turned his face to look down at her, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed his lips. He kissed her back, left one hand on the wheel, and laid his other hand on her belly, smiling slightly when he felt the kit kick.

What neither of them knew was that they had a few silent watchers. Three Hellhounds, including Mortem, flew quietly after and alongside them. As soon as Mortem saw Haley, he flew down and out of sight, letting loose a long, low, chilling howl. The others howled back and followed him down.

Haley and Pitch broke the kiss and jumped at the howls, glancing around. "What was that?" She whimpered, huddling close to the taller spirit.

Pitch wrapped his arm around her, remembering one of her biggest fears was dogs. "It must be wolves or something. We're flying over the forest anyway."

As the Hellhounds flew back to the Dead Sea, Mortem silently followed the Nightmare Galleon as it sailed back to Haley's house. He watched Haley and Pitch step off and enter the house as the ship melted away. Then, he flew to the Dead Sea as well. He plunged into the salty lake and bounded to Grimm. "Ah, Mortem." He greeted the Hellhound. "The rest of the Hellhounds arrived minutes ago. What news?"

Mortem communicated with the skeletal spirit in a series of growls and short barks. "Ah, so her home is in Spain, in a haunted house. I must admit she has good taste." Grimm said, stroking his hidden chin. "And I believe she is six months along? Then my time to act is running low. All I need is a few more days or weeks of planning…and soon, Haley O' Eve won't know what hit her…"

* * *

**A/N I've been in kind of a writing slump with this story, but hopefully with what's coming soon, I'll be a bit more enthusiastic about writing this.**

**I thought it'd be pretty cute that Sophie takes a liking to Pitch. Even though he's raised a child before, he's a bit "out of practice," so to speak.**

**The best part, I think, was describing the crib. I borrowed a couple of the Guardian symbols from a picture or two from DeviantART, but I tried to add my own symbol ideas as well. I'm not sure what lullaby the mobile would play, so I left it ambiguous.**

**I had the idea of Pitch taking Haley on a ship ride for quite a while. In the books inspiring the movie, apparently Pitch was briefly captain of a ship called the Nightmare Galleon. I thought that was interesting, and decided to put that in this story.**


End file.
